Endearment and Enmity
by Kitty-Guardian Hootryd
Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships,vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.**

* * *

Prologue

He was no idiot. Now, he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box either, and admittedly he was late bloomer in the garden of maturity; but by no means was he a stupid, unintelligent or unreasonable man. However, for the love of God, he sure did feel like the biggest moron in the world while staring at the gold band wrapped around his finger like a tiny house arrest monitor.

He'd made the biggest mistake in his life. He'd gotten into one of those obligatory situations worthy of a sitcom or romantic comedy where he'd made a very big life decision as exchanged as a long-term solution for a short-term problem. Every second leading up to the marriage was soaked in dread and doubt, but only when it was finalized and there was no going back did the full weight of his poor decision hit him.

He had proverbially just sold his soul to the devil.

Or rather, his hand in marriage.

"What's on your mind?" Speak of the devil. Seto Kaiba, his… legal spouse was sitting at his desk, typing away at whatever project or document he was working on this time. He didn't bother moving his eyes from the screen of his computer as he asked the question, nor did his voice waver from its regular unwavering monotone. The brunette wasn't in his usual overdramatic attire of a white trench coat and ankle/wrist band combination, but rather his 'moderate' (but still kind of ridiculous with context) white suit set with the blue shirt and tie.

Jonouchi rolled his eyes slightly "Oh, nothing _dear_." He replied calmly, although clearly sarcastic his tone held no humor. Mostly because of overwhelming discontent that he managed to keep to himself. While his… spouse, was dressed business formal, he leant more on business casual with a dark red collared button-up shirt with bright red pinstripes, tucked into his black slacks held up by a dark brown belt.

"I somehow doubt that, Katsuya." Kaiba droned and the very sound of his voice grated against his already peeved off nerves.

"Would you please not call me that, Kaiba." He almost snapped, but it came out as a huff when he crossed his arms and turned a stern glare to the CEO.

"It is your given name." The brunette stated in an as-a-matter-of-fact fashion, although it just ended up sounding very condescending whether or not it was intended.

"Just call me Jonouchi." Although he didn't have the best relationship with his father, he still preferred being called by the surname he'd inherited from him over his first name. No one ever called him by that except parents and sister, and to hear it from Kaiba just made it all the more cringe worthy.

"Isn't your name any more."

"Legally, Kaiba."

"Legally you're Kaiba too."

"Whatever." It was a juvenile retort, but it was hard to argue with someone who's entire life was dedicated to being ahead of everyone else and was too tired to try. "When are we heading back to the mansion anyways? It's already eleven P.M and it takes me at least three hours of dry sobbing into my pillow to fall asleep." His joke, as dry and bitter as it was, didn't get a laugh or smirk or any reaction that wasn't cold indifference.

Kaiba finally looked up from his computer screen over to him "Another half an hour and we can call it a night." he explained calmly, although Jonouchi had already received that explanation over two hours ago.

"Urgh." He groaned and leant his head back in frustration, arms still firmly crossed "I swear you're part bat."

His… spouse, responded to this comment "Are you saying that because I work late at night in a dark office?" The brunette was pretty nocturnal with his work habits, and for some reason never flipped the lights on in his office no what hour of the day or night it was; Jonouchi had only his phone and the glow of Kaiba's computer to see with.

Jonouchi scoffed "No, I'm saying that because you always bust my balls." Still his asshole of a… spouse, didn't laugh at that joke either. And some people wondered why Jonouchi hated him so much. Of course bribing him into marrying him didn't help either. You know what, he probably would spend three hours of whatever would be left of the night once they got back to the mansion dry sobbing into his pillow, contemplating his mistakes.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

 **Authors note: Yes Kaiba and Jonouchi are married in this chapter, and this is approximately seven years after the events of The Dark Side of Dimensions. And no, Kaiba and Jonouchi, even though they are hitched to each other, they are by no means in love with each other at this point. Jonouchi hates him, and Kaiba is neutral towards him. It's grudging respect at best.**


	2. Chapter 1: Context

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships,vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Context

Seto Kaiba was not the relationship kind of guy, he didn't have the time or even desire to date. Now, the opportunity to get married actually presented itself very often; especially after he turned the legal marrying age of eighteen. Business men constantly tried convincing him to marry their daughters.

Now, Kaiba understood that it was a common practice - but that didn't stop his distaste for it. He didn't understood why fellow tycoons wouldn't bother to groom their daughters to be heirs right from the beginning, rather than wait for a potential son-in-law to marry them off to. It was as much of a waste of time and potential gamble as it was disrespectful to the 'fairer sex'. He always declined these offers because if he would be married to someone, it would be with someone who did not let someone else make decisions on their behalf, and because he just didn't have any interest in women.

Seto Kaiba was far too self-assured to be ashamed of his sexuality because of something as trivial and meaningless as social stigma, but he considered such a thing a private and personal matter and didn't feel the need to make it public. But the constant pressure to find a partner was getting tiring after seven years - now twenty-five, the hounding from other CEO's only got worse, his constant turning down of arranged marriages had caused a lot of strained and sometimes ended relations with other companies, many of these businesses were stockholders and sometimes sold their stock, resulting in Kaiba Corp losing some value.

The longer he stayed a bachelor the more trouble he seemed to meet. So the most effective solution was to get legally married to someone so the other business men would have no reason to try to have him marry their daughters. Not the most sane solution, but logic didn't care about feelings and neither did Kaiba.

While he wouldn't be looking for the most perfect possible partner because they would ultimately serve as a figurehead, not as actual romantic partner, he still had reasonable standards. He'd need someone who had some kind of public presence, they didn't have to be a household name or anything just well known enough to be recognized by bystanders. Male obviously because he wouldn't change his preferences. Didn't have to be a model, but at least be decently attractive - however, the trait he'd seek out the most was someone who was self-assured and proud, because the Kaiba name had no room for someone who was riddled with insecurity or easily pressured.

Now that he was in his mid twenties he'd finally met CEO's close to his age range, but it was unlikely that any of them were also homosexual. And even if they were, Kaiba knew that they would never out themselves to the public in fear of scandal. Cowards. In the end, he ended up looking to familiar faces from the past.

Von Schroeder wouldn't have been too bad of an option since they were close to the same age and both business men, but Kaiba hated both his attitude and the color pink. Not to mention the European had recently gotten married himself, so that option was out of the window. Otogi, although attractive and confident, Kaiba always felt as if the other man came across as vain and knew that the dark haired man's pride rivaled his own, and even though he invented Dungeon Dice Monsters he was still not very popular in the gaming industry. Mutou was tempting, as the number one duelist in the world he was very popular, and the last Kaiba had seen he had grown confident even without the Pharaoh, but he knew Yugi had no interest in men and was in a relationship with Mazaki (whether or not they were married or dating he wasn't sure, he hadn't kept track of them).

That left one person.

He hadn't seen Katsuya Jonouchi since they graduated from high school seven years ago and he had no idea what he'd been up to besides still being the number three ranked duelist and although he wasn't near as active as he used to be he was still a professional duelist. That fact warranted at least a quick google search.

He was the national champion of the United States, which was his current place of residence. More specifically, San Antonio Texas where he worked at St. Lukes Baptist Hospital as a CRNA - Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. He had studied to become one at Dallas Nursing School. The career explained his relative absence from dueling. What caught Kaiba's attention was one of the reasons Jonouchi was popular, especially among younger duelists; he was openly bisexual.

* * *

Sometimes Jonouchi wondered if all of the anesthesia exposure caused the drugs to become permanently infused with his bloodstream, because he was pretty sure he was hallucinating. He had trudged his way out of the hospital as soon as his lunch hour came up, not caring if his scrubs and long sleeved cotton shirt were stained in blood, CSF and god knows what else. All he wanted was to go the 7/11 and grab a coffee, a crappy but cheap greasy sandwich and find some god-damn peace - when all of a sudden out of nowhere Seto Kaiba, his rival from high school, materialized out of nowhere and 'asked' him to join him to talk over lunch.

Although confused, he was too groggy from his long shift to protest or question the brunet right away, not to mention the prospect of free food after having not had breakfast was far too enticing.

"So..." Jonouchi started calmly, if a little awkwardly. "How are you, Kaiba?"

They were sitting in a way far back table of a some random steakhouse and barbecue style restaurant (it was Texas after all). Jonouchi noted that Kaiba didn't look much different from when they were in high school, besides now being slightly more filled out and having premature lines under his eyes undeniably from long work hours and stress, something the blonde was all too familiar with now himself. The the CRNA's relief, Kaiba wasn't decked out in his usual ridiculous and over dramatic trench coat attire but instead a white collared button up shirt, and dark slacks with typical business type black shoes. His hair style had changed only slightly, being in the same basic shape but more trimmed. "I'm doing well, Jonouchi." The CEO replied calmly, more professional than polite.

Jonouchi on the other hand must have looked quite a bit different to his rich counterpart - his hair style hadn't changed, but it was currently more messed up than usual because of how much he'd been running around the hospital that day. He'd grown slightly taller and was close to Kaiba's height save for and inch or two, and retained a muscular physique, not that it was noticeable under his long sleeved white cotton shirt, and dark green scrubs. "What is this about Kaiba? If you're having some kind of big tournament soon I can't go, the charge nurse is on maternity leave and I'm covering down for her for the next three months." Although truthfully he would still love to go to one; he hadn't gone to a very large tournament since the Grand Prix, so far he'd stuck to state and regional tournaments, and a few title challenges here and there.

"There's no tournament." Kaiba explained, drinking water as they waited for their food to come. Luckily Kaiba could speak English just as well as he could, which wasn't very surprising in hindsight but a relief nonetheless, although he held an obvious Japanese accent, similar to how Jonouchi held an American accent when speaking Japanese. "This is about personal matters."

Jonouchi cracked a brow up "I haven't seen you in like seven years dude, you couldn't have at least called or texted me or something. before taking a long flight all the way to the states."

"I prefer face-to-face interaction."

"So you came all to way to Texas?" The blonde couldn't help but roll his eyes "Rich people..."

"I've heard one of the reasons you're popular is because younger duelists look up to you." That one came out of nowhere, Kaiba's intentions remained unclear.

"Well… I'm not number one in duel monsters, but I'm still the United States champion."

"And LGBT."

"...So what? What do you care?" Jonouchi continued giving Kaiba a blank stare. This guy comes out of nowhere and all of sudden he wants to discuss something personal like they hadn't been rivals in high school. They had a grudging respect for each other at best.

Kaiba's face remained unchanged as he said "I am as well." Jonouchi will admit he probably looked confounded as the waiter finally brought them their food.

"So… You like to go out to the club with heels?" Jonouchi joked, he supposed he shouldn't be joking about something like that, but the absurd mental imagine forced the question, and he'd been in Texas for so long he'd just adapted to insensitivity.

"I'm homosexual, Jonouchi." Kaiba explained as he nonchalantly started on his food, which was simply just a grilled chicken breast and a side of salad "Not a secret, but a little known fact."

"Okay…?" Okay, Jonouchi will admit that was surprising, mostly because he'd always just kind of assumed that Kaiba was an asexual sea sponge. Still, why was Kaiba discussing sexuality with him? It was inappropriate considering that, again, they hadn't seen or spoken to each other in years. "What does that have to do with me? Cut to the chase man." This wasn't going to be some kind of love confession was it. While he had found Kaiba handsome in high school, he barely liked him as a person let alone a potential love interest.

His hunger overpowered his curiosity and he tuned Kaiba out a little bit as he tore into his food - brisket slices with fries and a hot roll (Americans loved their carbohydrates). He didn't really listen to Kaiba's justification for bringing up such a personal topic until-

"-I need to get married, and you're the most logical option." The brunet explained as if it were something as simple and trivial as needing someone to duel with to pass the time during a long wait.

Jonouchi choked on and nearly spit out the roll he just chomped into. The billionaire had the decency to allow him to recover before continuing "I'm sure you're wondering how I came to the conclusion that you-"

"You're joking right?" The blonde duelist cut him off, "Is this some kind of joke? Are you filming this for a youtube prank video or something? For the love of god, you can't be serious."

"I am very serious, Jonouchi. My peers in the business world are constantly trying to get me to marry their daughters, and my turning them down is ruining my professional relationships. If I'm married, they have no reason to get offended if I refuse." He justified.

Jonouchi almost felt insulted "You want me to marry you for business? That doesn't make you any better than those other businessmen."

"Wrong, I'm not offering up my brother like some kind of cheap whore like they are with their daughters."

"Kaiba! I know you have the social skills of a head of cabbage, but don't you see why I have a problem with this? I don't even _like_ you."

"You don't have to, you just have to be my legal spouse."

Jonouchi facepalmed at the nonchalance of the Blue Eyes White Dragon master "Gay marriage isn't even legal in Japan!"

"Not a large scale, no. But they've recently started issuing a few same-sex marriage licenses. A 'generous donation' to Domino City public fund should convince them to issue one to me." Seto Kaiba continued to _rationalize_ his insane plan, Jonouchi stared bug-eyed at him for a long time before staring down to his now empty plate. Time to leave was now.

"Yeahhhh, well um, thanks for lunch and all Kaiba. I'm gonna go head back to work now before my LVN left in charge freaks out." He slowly got up and walked away.

"It's to my understanding you're under thousands of dollars of student loan debt." The CEO stated with a slightly raised voice, making Jonouchi freeze in his tracks "The terms of your scholarship was that it was full ride as long as you retained a minimum of a C average of all of your classes, but failed and had to re-take your last semester of Microbiology, violating the terms of your scholarship. Now you have to pay back the full-ride cost with interest." He explained calmly, but Jonouchi could detect a slight smug tone.

His face paled a bit - it was true, already working full time as a RN when he was finishing his last year of courses to become a CRNA, his grades fell from a B average to a C average, and he'd failed his last semester of Microbiology. Already too far into the career course plan to drop it, and to close to becoming a CRNA, he ultimately decided to re-take it to finish. Now he was tens of thousands of dollars into student loan debt.

"Sit back down." Kaiba 'asked' politely, and Jonouchi complied.

In a harsh whisper, with a glare Jonouchi demanded answers "How the hell do you know that?"

"I do my homework, unlike you." Okay, ouch.

"Fuck you I did my-"

"Keep your voice down and don't swear, we're in public. I'm not asking that you become a sex slave; all I ask for is that you assist me, and I assist you in return. You know I'm capable of making that student loan debt disappear instantly when it would take you decades. All you have to do is sign a paper, wear a gold band for show." Kaiba insisted - and Jonouchi nervously clicked his pen from his pocket. The brunet had him there, the debt would take decades to pay back even working full time, and big cash prizes just didn't occur with duel monsters tournaments anymore.

He didn't like Kaiba, in fact he used to despise him in the past because of his own juvenile pride and abrasiveness. He especially hated now the fact that the CEO would corner him like this out of nowhere. But even with such a good job, he was still struggling; his credit score was already bad just from that debt, and it seemed like even if he paid off most of his paycheck, the interest caused whatever contribution he made to the giant fat leech of student loan debt not matter in the slightest.

"...How long."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

 **Author's note: And so it continues, this is how Kaiba convinces Jonouchi to become his spouse. Nothing should go wrong, right? All smooth sailing from here, right?**


	3. Chapter 2: Fallacies

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships,vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Fallacies

Living in the Kaiba mansion wasn't that bad all things considered, although he still missed his old apartment in San Antonio. The size of the mansion was just as much of a curse as it was a blessing. It was nice to have all the space, because this allowed him to have a completely different living space from his… spouse. Especially since it was just him, Kaiba, the small live-in staff and technically Mokuba (who was studying abroad) who still had a room set up. However, all the unnecessary space made the mansion seem so empty… not like a home at all.

When Kaiba had first made his 'proposal', he'd assured it would only last about three years, five years at most. Mostly just to get the CEO's peers to clearly see that he had no intertest in women. Although it seemed like a long time, it was still only a fraction of the time it would take to pay back his student loan debt. As much as he didn't like Kaiba, at least the guy kept his promises and paid it all off as soon as they both signed the marriage certificate. Jonouchi could have divorced him on the spot, but if Kaiba could uphold his promise, he would as well.

The brunet allowed him to finish covering down for his head nurse as he got his affairs in America in order. He was quite sad to leave America where he'd made several new friends that now he'd probably never see again. Plenty of military personnel in fact since Joint Base San Antonio was the military medical training hub for Soldiers, Airmen and Sailors, a lot of them had a second job at the hospital or worked there as ordered by the military for some reason or another, and they'd introduced him to military culture.

Once he had all of stuff packed, and all his affairs in order to move back to Domino City, Kaiba first had them sign an American marriage license to make the marriage seem more credible given Jonouchi's dual-citizen status and a long-distance relationship would explain why they've never been seen in public together.

Once back in Domino City they weren't legally married under Japanese law where same-sex marriage wasn't recognized yet except for a few cases. Kaiba had, however, been right when he said that a big enough donation would make the city look the other way. It made Domino City all too happy to legally recognize their marriage license and issue them a Japanese one as well. It made Jonouchi feel bad though, to think about the legitimate and loving same-sex couples across Japan who couldn't be married under Japanese law, yet Kaiba could for business purposes just because he was obscenely wealthy. If that wasn't special treatment, he didn't know what was.

The two duelists had made a promise that they wouldn't tell anyone the true reason of their marriage as not to either humiliate in Jonouchi's case, or demonize in Kaiba's case, either of them in the eyes of their friends and loved ones. Well, Jonouchi's friends and loved ones at least; for Kaiba it was loved _one_ , peers, and the public opinion.

Speaking of their friends and loved ones, their marriage had no doubt caused quite the shock, Jonouchi ended up lying to his friends and family that he'd been keeping the 'relationship' secret for three years because he didn't want to cause any drama if it didn't work out and, and that Kaiba needed time to publicly come out of the closet. His sister was hurt that he'd keep something like this from her, and was still giving him the silent treatment about it.

Mokuba was the opposite to Jonouchi's sibling, he was ecstatic over his brother getting married to someone who was both a familiar face and 'wasn't a gold-digging hoebag' in his own words (guy had a colorful vocabulary). However, Kaiba admitted to him soon after the 'wedding' that Mokuba knew him so well that he probably knew it was all a façade and went with it because he was just glad his big brother wasn't totally alone now.

Now, there was no way in Dante's Inferno that Jonouchi would resign to become a housewife (he cringed at the word) after he'd spent so much time and stress to become a CRNA, so with some heavy persuasion, which was actually just carefully worded blackmail, Kaiba agreed to let his new spouse work under the condition that he would work at a private hospital owned by Kaiba Corp.

While he hated that he had to technically work for the guy he had grown to despise more and more each passing day when he already had to bear with being married to him; the facility was a doctor's office and acute care clinic that catered specifically to orphan or underprivileged pediatric patients, which Jonouchi couldn't bring himself to disapprove of no matter who owned and funded it. It was almost sweet how the CEO in all his influence, wealth and power, couldn't let go of his roots.

Not that he empathized with the man.

Being new, he was just a regular CRNA with RN duties since anesthesia was rarely administered with pediatric patients compared to adults. He wasn't in as high as a position as he used to be at the hospital he used to work at, to his chagrin he'd have to work his way up all over again. And it wasn't easy because being married to the owner of the facility meant that automatically one half of the staff hated him and swore up and down he got special treatment, while the other half consistently tried to kiss his ass.

Home life was dull, Kaiba was usually at work, and even when he wasn't they lived in different wings of the mansion and so far, have had very little interaction since getting married. A small comfort, in the beginning of this convoluted 'plan' the red eyes black dragon master was afraid that his… spouse, would require them sharing a bedroom and bed; or worse, sex. He'd seriously prefer sticking his dick in an ant hill over having sex with Kaiba, his animosity towards the CEO was just that strong.

They'd been married, and he'd been back in Domino City, for six months so far. They still didn't even really like each other at all, and hadn't so much as kissed for obvious reasons.

Currently Jonouchi was in one of loungerooms, which each floor had, but he was in the first floor one; he'd just gotten back from the gym after work, and didn't feel like going up the stairs. He was lying on the couch in just his scrub pants and white cotton shirt, watching TV and munching on a bowl of seedless grapes.

All of a sudden, his 'knight in shining armor' shows up, and Jonouchi just tries his best to ignore him but he stands there quietly staring at him from the doorway as if expecting acknowledgment, which he most likely was but Jonouchi didn't give two halves of a fuck.

Eventually he relented "Can I help you, Kaiba?" He asked as calmly and politely as possible, but of course he sounded irritated.

"We're going to a social event tonight." The brunette informed him without a hint of bargaining.

But Jonouchi was a haggler nonetheless, and he groaned "Can't you tell them I'm at work?"

"It's an acute care clinic, not a full hospital, it closes at seven o'clock. The event starts at nine."

"Can't you tell them I'm sick."

"Katsuya it's been six months and I've used that excuse eight times already."

"Can't you tell them I died." Okay that one was obviously a joke, but he was still irritated and didn't want to go to some business event designed for extremely rich people to show off projects and hypothetically show everyone just how big their dick really was.

Kaiba sighed and walked over, resting a hand onto the couch to lean on it slightly. Oh great, now he was going to use one of those bullshit first-semester-of-community-college-psych techniques on him. Oh, joy how he really looked forward to being guilted by a guy he despised but was unironically hitched to. "Look, if this arrangement is going to work we have to at least occasionally be seen in public together as a couple, we don't want this to look like a sham."

"This is a sham, dumbass." He popped another grape into his mouth and chewed with his mouth open just to spite the blue-eyed duelist, and to highlight the fact that he still didn't give two halves of a fuck.

"Regardless, Katsuya, you should at least put _some_ effort into this marriage, I can't be the one pulling all of the weight." Kaiba stated sternly, and his statement almost made Jonouchi throw the whole ceramic bowl of grapes at him.

Angrily the blonde retorted "Oh hell no are you going to accuse me of not pulling my weight! I gave up my _life_ for this 'arrangement'!" His appeal to emotion fallacy fell to ears that belonged to an emotionless brain.

"Get upstairs, clean up and put on something decent. This isn't an option, you're going to go. It isn't a very formal even so I'd _suggest_ business casual." And with that, Kaiba left the Livingroom, to get ready for the event as well. He put emphasis on the word suggest because Jonouchi had no choice.

* * *

"If you like me Kaiba just say so." Jonouchi whispered, harshly but in a joking manner as his… spouse, practically dragged him out of the limo, insisting on their arms being linked together so they wouldn't give away the fact that they hated physical contact of any kind with each other.

"Just stay quiet." Kaiba instructed in a mumble, walking them both to the Centre where the event was being held – some old billionaire unveiling his next product to make even more money, seeking out fellow business tycoons to invest in it.

"Whatever." The brunet continued to walk him in, and Jonouchi was relieved to see that it wasn't a formal white-collar event, and the other people attending were in business casual as well, but all of them minus the presumably single ones had brought their spouses. Okay so maybe Kaiba had good reason to drag him with him, not that he'd give him credit or anything.

Once they were both seat at some random table, the CEO started giving him a 'pep talk' "Don't you dare talk to anyone. If you do, keep it limited to pleasantries only. I don't need you saying anything unintelligent to my peers."

"Yes 'dear', of course." Jonouchi sarcastically replied, but nodded as well. He didn't want to talk to some random rich people he didn't know anyways. He didn't even like talking to Kaiba and he knew him.

"I'll go grab us a drink, you wait here." Kaiba said, then paused "Not because I care but, you know, have to keep the image of a marriage up."

Jonouchi rolled his eyes, crossed his arms and not caring how unprofessional it looked "Whatever, Kaiba, just, no alcohol okay." The blonde duelist didn't drink. The blue-eyed man simply nodded and walked away, giving his 'partner' a moment of peace.

Jonouchi heavily sighed. He really should have paid closer attention to the big print of that contract.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

 **Author's note** **: I don't have a name for the clinic that Jonouchi currently works at but it's a children's acute care clinic owned by the Kaiba Corporation. And when Jonouchi said he'd rather stick his dick in an ant hill than have sex with Kaiba, it's a reference to watch?v=3vXNTCpM6rE**

 **Please leave a review.**


	4. Chapter 3: Foreward

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships,vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.**

Chapter 3: Forward.

"Kaiba-sama, a man and his son and here to see you." Jonouchi inwardly flinched when one of the LVN's referred to him by his married name; something he'd probably never be used to. He kept his disgust to himself as he turned to face the young nurse.

"Understood, thank you; but why isn't the doctor seeing him?"

"The doctor has, she wants you to coax the boy into taking his medicine. You know children don't respond to her like they do to you." Jonouchi couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Alright. Which room are they in?"

"Fifty."

As Jonouchi walked to the room he could swear he could hear the other nurse giggle; which made him suspicious as first but he ended up just shrugging it off. Females, as much as he loved them, were strange creatures.

He walked into the room, and was taken aback. "Jou!" The man, father of the boy he was supposed to be attending to, was grinning as he walked over. An all-too-familiar man.

"O-Otagi?" Jonouchi stammered slightly before breaking into his own grin over seeing a friendly familiar face in the dice master. Ryuji Otogi looked very similar to how he had as a teen, but was dressed casually and more conservatively. His dark hair was trimmed and kept in a neater style but still in a ponytail in the back, the rims of his eyes were clear from lack of eyeliner, and his dice earrings were now just gold hoops, which Jonouchi supposed were supposed to match the golden band around his finger. Against his shoulder he held a small toddler-aged boy.

"I heard you were working here and almost couldn't believe it." The dark haired man told his old friend with a small smile "But I saw your name on the employee roster in the hallway and requested you."

"Really? Wow. I haven't been able to meet up with anyone yet." Truthfully he knew that his friends knew him well enough to see his frustration over his marriage with Kaiba as soon as the subject would be brought up. Luckily, Otogi just couldn't see right through him like Yugi, Anzu and Honda could.

"Is it true though… Did you really tie the knot with Kaiba?" Well son of a bitch, that topic came up quickly. Jonouchi managed to keep a straight face as he pointed to his name tab which clearly read 'Katsuya Kaiba' a name the blonde had no attachment to. "Wow, I guess I should start calling you Kaiba then huh."

"Please don't." Jonouchi told him, trying not to sound as exasperated as he really was "Can you introduce me to your son?" That should get Otogi off the topic, parents loved gushing about their kids. He was relieved when he was proven to be right as the dark haired man turned his baby boy to face Jonouchi. The boy had very dark brown hair that shot up in random spikes, and green eyes just like his father, but his skin was tan compared to Otogi's pale. He was oddly familiar, but then again all babies looked the same in the CRNA's opinion. "What's the boys name?"

"Chokichi." Otogi told him as he lightly bounced the small toddler, who only continued to absentmindedly suck on his thumb. That made Jonouchi quirk a brow at the similarity the baby shared with another one.

"That's ironic, Honda's son has the same name-" Before the blonde could properly finish his sentence, the other man started to chuckle, making him pause "Hey what's so funny, guy?"

"Didn't Honda ever tell you?" Otogi continued to chuckle, then cleared his throat "Chokichi is mine and Honda's son, we had him together."

"..." Jonouchi fell silent. Honda and Otogi? His former classmate had a ring on, did that mean he was married to Honda? And they somehow had a kid together? "What?" Honda had sent him a ton of pictures of the baby the minute the kid had been born, but he always dodged the question on who the 'mother' was, which at the time had Jonouchi come to the conclusion that some girl he'd slept with just ditched the baby on him. Turned out there was no mother. "...How?"

"That's a story for another time." Otogi's eyes held a glint "Me and Honda aren't married since it isn't legal yet, we have a domestic partnership however. We attended the same university and fell in love there." Although Jonouchi supposed he should have felt happy for his friends, it still felt like a stab to just now hear about all of that. Honda had been his friend since middle school, and yeah neither of them were the best when it came to calling, but he couldn't have at least mentioned once he was involved with Otogi and had even started a family together?

"Interesting..." He muttered in an almost Kaiba-esque way, which he caught right away. Gross, the bastard was starting to rub off on him. "Well, can you tell me what's wrong with the little guy?"

"He's had a fever for the past few days and he can't shake it off..." Otogi explained as he gently stroked the baby's head.

"Hm. Simple thing man, doesn't sweat. This is probably just a bacterial infection - kids put everything into their mouths you know. We'll give him some fluid and electrolytes and probably some broad-spectrum antibiotics. But let me ask a few questions first; what kind of symptoms has he shown?"

"Fever, crying to the point of screaming… isn't eating and can't sleep well." Jot.

"Does he have any allergies?"

"Bee stings." Jot.

"Does he take any medications currently?"

"Just some baby cough medicine." Jot.

"Has this happened before?"

"No, he hasn't run a fever like this before." Jot.

"What was the last thing he ate or drank?"

"Cold formula milk, and a little bit of applesauce." Jot.

"What was going on before he came down with the fever?"

"Just… normal stuff. We took him out for a walk out at the little kids park." Jot. Just as he took the last note the baby started to loudly cry, his flushed face growing to the likeness of an angry tomato. "No, baby shh, it's okay..." Otogi told the baby softly and rocked him, rubbing his back and trying to calm him down in all of the usual ways. Still a little alien seeing Otogi so gentle.

"Alright you wait here, I'll go consult his pediatrician." From the cupboard he quickly produced a pedialyte bottle, a special type of juice for babies with plenty of electrolytes, very important for fevers. "Give him this, the fevers probably dehydrating him." The dark haired man nodded and took the bottle, coaxing the small boy into drinking from it.

* * *

"What's wrong with you today?" Kaiba asked, more out of curiosity than actual concern. Jonouchi had come into his office after work as he sometimes did, which the brunet requested as to keep up appearances.

Jonouchi's teeth ungritted just enough to ask"Did you know that Otogi and Honda were partners?" His… spouse, didn't bother to so much as look up from his computer screen. "Well… Did you?" Jonouchi had just gotten off of work and changed before heading over, he tried texting and calling Honda but had gotten no response, and he'd grown so frustrated in silence that now he had to take it out on someone even if it had to be the guy he hated for holding him as a basically a hostage-bride.

"I might have heard at some point in time from my brother, but I don't go out of my way to keep track of the cheerleader squad. So, I'm gonna have to say no." The CEO cooly replied, typing away.

"I can't believe that he wouldn't tell me. I've known that asshole since we were troublemaking shits of kids. I've scraped his ass off of the sidewalk like bubblegum so many times- Kaiba, would you at least pretend you see me as a regular person as _look_ at me while I talk to you?" Just to prove his point and frustration he gripped the couch and shoved it over onto it's back.

Kaiba at least acknowledged him by looking up and stopping his excessive typing.

"I mean, I'm not expecting the guy to tell me each and every one of his most intimate secrets. But that's a big part of his life and he never bothered to tell me."

The blue-eyed man crossed his arms with a disapproving hum "What do you expect? Did you think that you and your clique would remain friends forever once high school ended? Wake up, friendship doesn't last forever no matter how much you preach, they moved on. And so should you." Honestly, Kaiba had almost forgot just how emotional the other duelist could be.

"This is coming from the guy who spent millions of dollars taking control of a city for a duel monsters tournament because you couldn't accept defeat." Jonouchi retorted. Kaiba's hand tightened around his own forearm. He'd been a little hot-blooded back then, but his loss to Yugi all those years ago never felt right… perhaps because the boy who beat him wasn't Yugi at all, but the spirit of the puzzle.

Even in the Grand Prix, losing to Yugi didn't feel right. Why? Because even if he was dueling the spirit of the puzzle, the spirit was in the end just a spirit… He wasn't his true self, he wasn't at his full strength with his own memories or ambitions, he was in the end just a powerful extension of Yugi. That was why he had gone so far as to see the Pharaoh in the afterlife, because his old rival owed him a _real_ duel. Even if he hadn't won, he still had the closure he needed to move on with his life.

"Stop looking back Katsuya, you're not supposed to be going that way." Kaiba answered cryptically as he resumed his work. Jonouchi glared coldly at him.

"Everyone has a past Kaiba, even you. You think I don't know that you named that hospital after the Orphanage you came from?" The brunet paused again "Whatever, you're no help. I'm going back to the mansion, and I'm not fixing the damn couch. " With that the REBD turned away and left, ultimately venting didn't help. And he felt no closer to his… spouse.

Oh well, yet another night of dry sobbing into his pillow and jacking it.

TO BE CONTINUED

 **Authors note: So the clinic is named after the orphanage that the Kaiba brothers came from, that's what I've decided. And yes, there you go, Otogi and Honda are a couple with an adorable little shit of their own. As stated before, this fanfiction takes place years after the Dark Side of Dimensions, where Kaiba somehow comes back from the afterlife after his duel with Atem. He didn't win, but after having finally gotten a fair duel with no one else but him and and the Pharaoh, he found closure and could finally move on.**

 **Please leave a review.**


	5. Chapter 4: Blind Date

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships,vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Blind Date

Wednesday was Jonouchi's chosen day off - he worked weekends overtime for the compounded extra pay, since he kept a separate bank account from Kaiba still. He was keeping to himself in the loungeroom on his floor of the mansion. His angry texts to Honda had not yet received a response, so he was sulking over it. He'd already gone to the gym that morning and still his frustration hadn't been worked off, so he was drowning his sorrow into a bowl of Kappa Ebisen( **1** ), something he'd often indulged in as a teen but didn't so much anymore (he maintained a healthy diet to keep up with his steadily slowing metabolism).

He was so _alone._ His sister Shizuka was still giving him the silent treatment over his 'secret two-year-long relationship' with Kaiba, Honda wouldn't respond to his angry text messages (although starting them off with "You asshole" probably wasn't the best conversation starter choice), Yugi and Anzu were currently in NYC for a Broadway show she was dancing in, Bakura was in Kyoto, and Otogi was too busy parenting to hang out with him, which Jonouchi knew because unlike his husband the dark-haired man was actually willing to respond to his texts.

Kaiba was most likely at work, as far as Jonouchi knew. He didn't interact with his… spouse, very much. He hadn't bumped into him in the mansion in three solid days so far. Usually he kept himself entertained with either electronics, are talking to the mansion servants. The main cook was pretty hot so he talked to her often. She had a penchant for short skirts too, which made Jonouchi really, really glad that Kaiba never put forth a dress code for his hired help.

Not that he'd do anything with her, for one he would always respect the sanctity of marriage even if he hated who he was married to; and he also knew it would severely displease Kaiba, not because the brunet respected the sanctity of marriage, but because he didn't want a scandal to make him look bad. For now he was content with looking but not touching.

"You look ridiculous." He heard all of a sudden - his head snapped to the entrance to the lounge room, where Kaiba stood with his arms crossed. He hadn't noticed the CEO enter, although it was hard to ever sense the guy coming because he had the lightest steps known to man. Jonouchi scowled - his attire consisted of a green plaid tshirt, which were tucked into blue jeans held up by a brown belt with a big metal buckle, and brown cowboy ankle length cowboy boots (under the jeans).

"Have you ever looked at yourself?" Jonouchi scoffed in return, referring to Kaiba's overdramatic trench coat and BEWD worship dressing taste - he'd spent so long in Texas he'd adapted to the modern southern style, at least he didn't do the ten gallon cowboy hat and shiny tassels that some of the older southern men still did. He loved his Red Eyes Black Dragon, sure, it was still his trademark card, but not enough to worship it and dress in tribute to it like a patron god. "What do you want, Kaiba?" He asked between munches of prawn chips.

"Tonight at six, we're going to Kozue." Kaiba announced, because anytime he told the blonde something it was because they were going to do it, no if ands or buts about it.

"Kozue?" Jonouchi echoed, his brain scrambled for a second trying to remember the place he was talking about "...That famous restaurant in Tokyo?"

"Indeed." The tall brunet clarified, Jonouchi gave him a long stare before speaking.

"...Dude, we're two hundred mi- I mean, over three-hundred kilometers from Tokyo( **2** ). It'll take a whole day of driving to get there." Jonouchi quickly converted from the imperial system of measurement to metric. He almost forgot that Kaiba most likely either didn't know miles, or was at most rusty with that system.

"I'll take us in my private jet." Kaiba reassured in his ever present monotone. The blonde nurse groaned loudly at the thought of that embarrassing dragon themed jet that he remembered Kaiba having when they were younger. It seemed kind of cool when they were teens, but now that they were mature adults he really realized how childish it was. And people called him immature.

"Oh come on, Kaiba. Not after that business banquet we had to go to; I'd serious prefer camping out in duelist kingdom over the torture of another lame product related speech." Jonouchi grumbled, but as usual his former rival wasn't the type to negotiate.

"Be ready by five thirty( **3** )." Kaiba commanded "Put something _presentable_ on." His eyes narrowed a bit more at the blonde. It was no secret that Kaiba did not approved of the westernized style that he'd picked up. Jonouchi absent-mindedly nodded but said nothing, although he did make his eye-roll as visible and obvious as possible, as the CEO finally left him alone.

Jonouchi looked at the clock - it was only eleven in the afternoon; well shit he still had a lot of time to kill. He looked to his half-empty bowl of kappa ebisen's, that talk with Kaiba really ruined his stress-eating appetite.

* * *

People of Domino, unlike his… spouse, didn't really care about the way he was dressed, mostly because they were used to seeing American tourists and probably assumed he was one, and they actually minded their own damn business. It was a relief to not be talked down to as he walked the streets of Domino, many of those streets familiar from his late childhood and his teenaged years. He paused when he saw the all-too-familiar Kame Game Shop, one of the most common stops from his past.

Yugi definitely wasn't there, but his grandfather most likely was, as indicated by the sign on the door which was flipped to the 'open' side. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Jonouchi walked over and stepped into the shop, lo behold the old man indeed was standing behind the counter, talking to one of his customers.

"Gramps?" Jonouchi addressed, not realizing he was speaking English again. Nonetheless it seemed to gain both Sugoroku and the customers attention. The old man lit up at the sight of his grandsons best friend.

"Jonouchi my boy." Grandpa Motou said with a gruff chuckle as he walked slowly over from behind the counter. He didn't look too different from how he had eight years earlier, besides his gait and slightly cloudy eyes indicating the fragility of old age. "I wasn't expecting the visit."

"Yeah, I've been a bit… Busy." Jonouchi said with a weak grin as he rubbed the back of his own head sheepishly. "I was walking and saw the shop and thought it was finally time to pay another visit." Oh he had indeed visited before, Sugoroku lived in the game shop alone now, Yugi had moved out and his mother now lived in the countryside with her husband who had finally retired ( **4** ). They wanted to take the old man to live with them as was customary, but he refused, he wanted to continue to run his game shop.

"Jonouchi?" The customer inquired, the blonde nurse finally took notice of the man; he had short dark brown hair that was spiked at the edges and had a splash of violet at the middle of his hairline. He had sharp brown eyes with narrow pupils, slightly tanned skin, and stood a few inches under Jonouchi's height, at maybe 5'8. He was also wearing a cream dress shirt with black slacks, and a dark green tie.

"...Ryuzaki?" He came to the conclusion slowly, and the other man slowly shook his head. It was surprising really, the brunet seemed to have grown out of his awkward phase and wasn't cringy to look at anymore.

"Ah yes, he's a frequent customer these days." Sugoroku told the blond with a gentle smile still intact.

"You... Still duel?" Jonouchi awkwardly asked his old enemy; Ryuzaki used to be highly ranked in the region, up until Yugi and the gang entered the scene with their obsurdly skilled foes, and his popularity dwindled from there along with his running mate Haga.

Ryuzaki looked to the newly acquired card in his hands "Sort of, well, mostly to amuse my kids."

"YOU have kids?" Okay, that was shocking too.

"Well yeah - no! No, not my own." Ryuzaki quickly and embarrassingly shook his head "My kids as in - I'm a primary school teacher. My students is what I mean."

Jonouchi nodded at the explanation, this made slightly more sense; although it was still unexpected "Ahhh I see. You and Haga still... friends?" Were they friends or were they rivals? It was hard to tell with those two with their constant arguing.

"We're more than friends Jonouchi... couldn't you tell? We've been dating since Battle City..." Ryuzaki told him, straightening up his tie. Although the blond did not reply out loud, he couldn't help but think of something he dare not say aloud, especially in the presence of Yugi's sweet if old fashioned and very modest grandfather.

 _'Am I the only guy around here who likes pussy?'_

* * *

Catching up with Ryuzaki by chatting over a quick half-hearted table duel proved to somehow lift Jonouchi's spirit from the proverbial dumps they had been in earlier. The runt had indeed grown mature in more than looks. H e worked at the local primary school for students in Grade Three, and many of the ankle-biters loved duel monsters just as they generation of kids before them had. Although the violet-fringed man did not competitively duel anymore, he still taught and played the game during breaks with his students.

Jonouchi spoke about the antics of his coworkers and patients, and things that had happened while he had been schooling, and likewise Ryuzaki did the same but with students rather than patients; they found both groups to be trying at times. They also lamented the struggles of being male in female-dominated occupations, an issue they had a hard time discussing with their male friends, or even female friends if they were in similar situations, as it was quite the... different, experience.

It was refreshing to make a friend again, even if in the form of a former enemy. Speaking of which, it turned out Haga was working as a Entomologist for the local university; and was actually currently lecturing for a semester at Universiti Putra Malaysia, a research university in Seri Kembangan, Malaysia. He'd gotten far in life, that lanky nerd did. According to Ryuzaki, while they did live together they had no children, and did not plan for any, while Ryuzaki (surprisingly) loved children, his partner had very little patience and absolutely no desire for one, and he respected that.

Jonouchi surprised himself when he found himself to be disappointed when Ryuzaki left, mostly because he had seen so little of his friends and family, and didn't exactly have the most engaging relationship with Kaiba. He was just so... so freaking lonely. The silver lining was that they exchanged numbers and agreed to hang out another time.

"Say, Jonouchi, what brings you to this part of town?" Grandpa Motou asked as he brought his surrogate grandchild a cup of green tea, which the blond thanked him for as he sipped it.

"I just wanted to kill some time before me and Kaiba are going to a restaurant in a bit." Jonouchi practically muttered, drinking half of the cup in only a few sips..

"A date?" The old man inquired.

"...You can say that, I mean, usually it's business gatherings. I don't really make a point to ask Kaiba anymore because either way it's lame and I don't get a choice." The blond complained.

Sugoroku stared at him for a hard minute, which made the nurse feel awkward because he knew that look too well, it was look he'd gotten so many times when he'd asked the old man to teach him how to play duel monsters, and subsequently trained him. "Why do you call him Kaiba?"

"-..." Jonouchi froze, no one ever questioned him calling his... spouse, Kaiba. It was just so natural of him, but he realized how strange it was to call your own significant other by their family name and never their first name, especially after supposedly dating for over two years and getting married. While he could lie about the whole facade no problem, he still had trouble making things up for small details like that. "W-Well uh, you know… it's just, isn't very respectful to call him by his first name with people who aren't on a first-name basis with him too-"

"Are you lying my boy?"

"..." A hand fell on the blond's shoulder, squeezing it softly but firmly.

"Are there… underlying circumstances to you marrying Kaiba?"

"Gramps..."

"You don't have to tell me… but, if you're unhappy, don't be afraid to admit it. To me, or him. Or yourself."

* * *

"I can't believe you kept those ridiculous westernized clothes on." Kaiba told him sharply, not bothering to look back from the steering mechanism of the jet as he scolded him. Honey brown eyes rolled in response, indeed Jonouchi had not bothered to change from what he was wearing earlier, mostly out of spite but partially because he just didn't feel like changing. "Why are you insisting on trying to embarrass me?"

"...Dude you know I don't like you right." Jonouchi muttered; it wasn't entirely true, he didn't _hate_ Kaiba or anything, he just didn't like being bossed around by someone.

"Well you could have pretended to like me long enough for this dinner." The blue eyed man sharply retorted, still steering his ridiculous jet that Jonouchi had the displeasure of boarding, and soon enough the displeasure of being seen coming out of it.

"Whatever, what kind of business dinner is this anyways? You trying to buy someone out or something?" Jonouchi only really had a vague idea of how business worked, mostly he knew about healthcare management when it came to the subject of business. Big-wig multibillion dollar gaming companies were a whole other topic.

"This isn't business related, Katsuya." Kaiba stated, irritated as if he'd just said the most obvious thing to the biggest idiot ever, which was probably how the brunet saw it.

Jonouchi exasperatingly placed his hands into his lap "Then why the hell are we going to some fancy restaurant in Tokyo?" Not that he minded dining on some of the fanciest food in Japan, but being demanded to do anything left a sour taste in his mouth nonetheless, and anytime Kaiba invited him for a meal, something terrible happened. Okay, so it only happened once, but that one terrible thing of ending up hitched was bad enough for him to always be on edge about it.

"Because we're a married couple, you do realize we have obligations other than business and living arrangements right? Does your undersized brain understand how this process works or has the exposure to the anesthesia caused it to shrink even further." Well there's the jerk-Kaiba that Jonouchi knew all too well, but the statement did make the gears in his head slowly turn.

"We're… going on a date?" He had difficulty even suggesting such a thing, oh god he was pretty sure the word date made him throw up a little in his mouth.

"That is something that married couples do, Katsuya." Kaiba stated bluntly, not realizing the effect it had on the other man.

A date? A date with Kaiab of all people? Somehow that was worse than just being married to him, because being his hostage bride so far only required that he live with him and give up his original family name, not actually have to spend time with him for anymore than a few hours a week.

Tonight's sobbing into his pillow wasn't going to be dry.

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

 **(1)Kappa Ebisen (かっぱえびせん) prawn chips by Calbee**

 **(2) I imagine that since Domino city has docks, it'd be a coastline city, so I'd say close to the Japanese city of Tsu, which is roughly 198 miles from Tokyo, roughly about 321 kilometers.**

 **(3) I don't know how fast the blue eyes white dragon jet it, but for the hell of it let's say it's mach one speed, which travels about 750 miles / 1207 kilometers an hour, they could very well get to Tokyo before six.**

 **(4) Yugi's mother, although never seen in the 4kids dub, lives with Yugi and his grandpa in the game shop. Her husband, Sugoroku's son, is supposedly always away on business.**

 **Authors note: Jonouchi's negative feelings towards Kaiba are for the most exaggerated for comical purposes, he does in fact not hate Kaaba, but he doesn't really like him that much either. This discontent could be seen as both of their fault, as Kaiba is work-oriented and Jonouchi won't even try to get close to him.** **So Ryuzaki/Rex Raptor makes an appearance, unexpected I know. And apparently him and Haga have been dating this whole time.**

 **Will he show up again, and what was the significance of him showing up again? Will anyone else show up or make unexpected appearance? Will Jonouchi ever stop dramatically sobbing into his pillow? Will he and Kaiba ever get along? Is Jonouchi really the only guy in this story who likes vagina?**


	6. Chapter 5: The Devil Came Down to Kozue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships,vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The Devil Came Down to Kozue**

Jonouchi sat across from Kaiba at the table trying to not make his actual discomfort around the CEO any more blatantly obvious. It wasn't enough he had to be seen exiting that ridiculous looking dragon themed jet, but to also be seen in public with Kaiba under the guise of matrimonial affection when there was absolutely none in reality.

"Would you at least _attempt_ to look like there isn't a cactus up your orifice?" Kaiba scolded him quietly; earning a huff from the blond, although he was admittedly amused at the attempt at a joke.

"The human body has several external orifices Kaiba, if you're referring to the anus you'll have to be a bit more specific." Jonouchi cracked back; while Kaiba most likely had some rudimentary medical knowledge, there was no way it was as extensive as his own. That was one advantage the CRNA had over his… spouse.

The CEO rolled his eyes "My statement still stands; I'm one of the most apathetic people I know, and even I can see you're uncomfortable." So maybe Jonouchi wasn't the best at hiding his emotions.

"I can't help it you know, it's not like I expected a date." Jonouchi said as he sipped his water - Kaiba was drinking sake, some fancy brand that the restaurant served. America didn't offer much real sake and instead had a preference for wine and beers when it came to non-liquor alcohol at least, an observation Jonouchi made despite his abhorrence to drinking based solely on his interactions with his friends in the states.

The brunet rose an eyebrow "Why? We are married, going to a restaurant is a standard type of date." His monotone made it even more obvious he was talking down to him. "You do realize that right?"

"Of course I know that!" He whispered harshly back "But let me remind you Seto Kaiba, the last few times we went to out to eat together - it was with your rich tycoon friends making business proposals, in which case I was a prop more than anything. And the first time we did, you ambushed me with the proposal that started this all. I was under the impression there was no underlying romantic connotations to this agreement."

"Nonetheless we do have appearances to keep up." Kaiba explained nonchalantly, taking a mental note of the blond's fingers tapping on his own thigh.

"Do you... " Jonouchi kept tapping, a nervous habit he had picked up recently from being in the brunet's office hours on end, and being forced to listen to the constant typing. "Do you even _like_ me, let's not go as far as in a romantic sense, but do you even like me as a person?"

"Do _you,_ Kastsuya?" Kaiba countered back, seeming exasperated himself "I'm not even particularly discourteous towards you, but all I get is enmity in return. " Jonouchi had to at least hand it to Kaiba, he had an extensive vocabulary for a guy who's primary language wasn't English. Nevertheless he… had a point, at least. It was true that besides a few half-hearted jabs at his intelligence, Kaiba hadn't been cruel to him in the slightest, sure a bit _distant_ but that was a given considering his profession. Jonouchi himself, however, made his dislike of his spouse no secret. "I'm at least trying, you are making this more unpleasant for yourself than I have."

Although he was well aware he was in the wrong and Kaiba had a point,, Jonouchi wasn't one to give into the notion very quickly "We'll excuse me for being married to an _asexual sea sponge_ with the emotional capacity of a kitchen sponge- are you laughing?" He cut himself off from his rant when his… spouse, started to chuckle.

"Asexual sea sponge?" Kaiba echoed, seeming amused "Not one I hear too often except from my brother. The media prior to you seemed convinced I was some sex crazed deviant. Rich equals playboy is a common assumption."

"Um… Okay?" Weren't they arguing a minute ago? Kaiba was a confusing guy. Or perhaps his monotonous lack of emotion was just a front, perhaps he was more skilled at manipulating emotion than Jonouchi gave him credit for. He was definitely skilled at catching him off guard.

The food was finally brought to them as Jonouchi was collecting his thoughts. Not up to continue their conversation, he ate quietly, but kept a displeased expression on his face out of spite.

"I didn't answer your question, you know." Kaiba said as he ate neatly.

"Are you going to?" Jonouchi inquired.

"Only if you answer mine."

Jonouchi sighed deeply. "Look, I don't - I don't _hate_ you okay? I mean, I'm not madly in love with you or anything because you're an apathetic asshole who made it really fucking hard to save the world sometimes when we were younger because you didn't seem to understand the concept of 'one of us isn't stronger than all of us', but you have admirable qualities" The blond explained, but didn't quite want to seem too fond of his counterpart "And… I guess you're not ugly?" He offered.

"Well, aren't you amorous." Kaiba replied sarcastically.

"Well… Are you answer my question this time?"

"Another time."

Jonouchi paused. "...Asshole."

"I never confirmed I'd answer if you did."

"You're clever, even if you are an asshole, I'll give you that."

"See, now is it so hard to be civil towards me?"

" _Yes,_ because you're an asshole."

"Still going to compare me to an orifice?" That time Jonouchi actually laughed a little. Kaiba was a dispassionate individual, but he was kind of funny. That was something at least. Maybe… just maybe being hitched to him could be at least bearable.

...At _least._

* * *

"How are you cold?" Kaiba asked, a few minutes after their flight back started. In the rearview mirror he had he could see the blond wrapping his arms around himself.

"That place had the a/c cranked up as high as it would go." Jonouchi answered, although also he hadn't yet re-acclimated to Japan after being in Texas for so long. Anything under twenty-five celsius was cold to him. And he'd neglected to bring a jacket with him to the restaurant, a mistake he always seemed to make, but only when he went to places with the a/c up all the way.

"I have my trench coat folded under my seat, you can grab it if you're that cold." Kaiba explained, Jonouchi looked at him dumbfounded "Well? Are you going to take it or not?"

"It's just… Was that a _kind_ gesture? From you?"

"I think we've established I'm not the Devil, Katsuya. " Jonouchi shrugged and grabbed the aforementioned trench coat out from under the chair, he knew that Kaiba had multiple copies of his trademark white coat, but he was beginning to suspect he had one stashed in each mode of transport and/or place of dwelling. "My brother used it as a blanket frequently when he was younger."

"Thanks, Kaiba." Jonouchi said as he draped the garment over himself. It smelled like a cross between new book and keyboard cleaning putty. The blond looked out and window and watched the quick, but brightly lit flashes of towns and cities, and the blur of clouds that they were passing along the coast "You know it ain't a bad view from here." He said almost softly, he was tired from the day and the full stomach wasn't helping.

"It isn't." Kaiba replied, still monotone.

"You know, I just realized you're operating a vehicle after drinking. Not very responsible of you." The realization dawned on him; Kaiba had drunk a whole bottle of sake.

"I can handle alcohol well." Kaiba excused, not even glancing back.

"You are a _twig._ "

"And you're an imbecile, if you want to continue this name-calling game. Relax, we'll make it back to the mansion fine."

"I refuse to relax! You just drank whole bottle of forty-proof sake and now you're driving a jet!"

"Oh what are you going to do, breathalyze me?"

"If I had one I would!"

"It's too late to protest now; we've already taken off and the next HLZ( **1** ) I'm authorized to land on is fifty miles away a different direction."

"Well go in that direction then! I know you equipped this jet to take turns and god help me if I'm going to die in a plane crash it won't be in this one!" Jonouchi practically growled - while he could tell that Kaiba could handle his alcohol extremely well considering his underwhelming build, he still wasn't going to take that risk.

Kaiba was silent at first, but then he sighed and shifted the control stick of the jet "We'll land there and spend the night in a small house I have hidden in that area, okay? If you're going to be touchy about drinking at least voice your concerns before we take off flying."

"Fine." Jonouchi agreed with a sigh of relief, he turned his head again to stare out the window. He blinked once or twice before everything went dark.

* * *

"Hmmnpph..." Jonouchi hummed as the darkness transitioned to fuzzy light, and he blinked until it was clear. He was still lying down as he lazily looked around to study his surroundings. He was in a modest looking averaged sized room, not too different from his own bedroom at the Kaiba mansion. It had a desk, a dresser, a closet and a bedside dresser.

He was lying in a queen sized bed with beige coloured sheets, under a fluffy dark blue comforter, and head resting in on a pillow that matched the beige color of the sheets, there was a second pillow being occupied by Kaiba-.

Wait.

Wait just one minute.

Occupied by _Kaiba?_

Kaiba was lying in the bed with him.

"AHHHHHH!" He cried out and tried to shove Kaiba out of the bed, however Kaiba's side was against the wall so Jonouchi just ended up pushing himself off. His shouting coupled with the shoving and thudding against the floor did succeed in at least waking the brunet up.

Now on the floor, Jonouchi rolled onto his back and looked up to see Kaiba peering down at him from the bed. "What's wrong with you?"

"WHY ARE WE IN THE SAME BED?!" Jonouchi practically screeched, scooting up until he was sitting up to glare at the CEO.

"You were asleep when we landed, I drove us here and you were still asleep."

"BUT WHY THE SAME BED?!"

"This is one of my small safe houses, there's only one bedroom." The brunet explained as he got up and grabbed a shirt from the closet. So Kaiba slept shirtless, even worse. "Besides, we are married, it's not exactly a new concept that we'd share a bed at some point." Jonouchi scowled as he adjusted to sit criss-cross, then noticed he was in a plain white shirt and sweat bottoms.

"Did… did you change my clothes?!"

"You are a heavy sleeper." Kaiba deadpanned.

Jonouchi got up and was extremely tempted to just punch him but opted not too, punching his own spouse reminded him too much of certain bad memories, no matter how much he didn't like Kaiba he wouldn't do anything like that. He wasn't that type of man. "Did you touch me?" He asked harshly, his fists balled.

"If you mean inappropriately, of course not. I know your opinion of me is low, but I would never stoop to molesting you in your sleep like some greasy pervert." Kaiba stared down at him hard, clearly offended by the accusation "If you'd believe that, that would be pleasant. Now, before you ask, all I did was change your shirt and trousers, I did not take your undergarments off. Now, leave me alone, I'm not in the best mood without my first cup of coffee." With that, Kaiba turned and walked out of the room. Leaving a dumbfounded, albeit kind of guilted, Jonouchi.

"...Asshole." He muttered, and looked for something in the closet to change into.

* * *

 **(1) HLZ: Helicopter landing zone**

 **Authors note: Originally I was going to call this chapter 'A Date with the Devil', to refer to Jonouchi's disdain towards Kaiba, but somehow that turned into The Devil Came Down to Kozue, as a pun on the song 'The Devil Came Down to Georgia'. Kaiba continues to leave his feelings towards Jonouchi vague. I'll give you a hint; they're not strong. Yet, at least. If you're wondering where I've been, I've just been swamped at work and now once I go home all I want to do is sleep, eat and complain.**


	7. Chapter 6: Monoblack

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships,vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.** _ **Also, NOW there's a cover image, hope you guys like it**_

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Monoblack**

"Aaaand, you win again."

"You're sounding pretty bored there."

"We've been playing back-to-back for like three hours."

"Just one more match come on."

"Does your husband even know you play this game?"

Jounouchi was a little better at holding his flinch at the word 'husband' but his face probably betrayed just a little bit of disdain.

Currently, he was sitting at a gaming Tabletop in the Kame Game Shop, across from his was Ryuzaki looking a bit bored, but also amused. Between them was two decks from Magic The Gathering, Jounouchi's being black-devotion, and Ryuzaki's being an Eldrazi theme deck. "If K- _Seto,_ knew that I was 'cheating on duel monsters', he'd probably throw my ass to the curb worse than if cheated on him." He said jokingly, trying to hide the actual, literal disgust he had for being hitched to Kaiba.

"I don't know what you see in this game." Ryuzaki told him, shuffling the deck. "I can't seem to win." Ryuzaki was wearing his school instructor uniform, which was a white button down shirt with a purple-gray tie, tucked into black slacks, a brown belt, and suede sensible shoes.

"Come onnn man, I even gave you my better deck." Jounouchi reminded him "I've just been playing this game for a while… also, you can't keep calling instants trap cards." Jounouchi had a short shift that day, but hadn't changed out of his scrubs yet; he was wearing dark green scrubs with a white long-sleeved cotton shirt underneath, and blue running shoes; but his scrub top was draped over the chair and the shirts sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

"How'd you even get into this?" Ryuzaki asked, handing Jounouchi the Magic deck back.

Jounouchi contemplated for a minute, racking his brain "Before I worked at hospital, I worked at BAMC when I was initially a CNA." He explained, folding his arms in front of him "Don't ask me what BAMC stands for because everyone just calls it BAMC so I forgot what the acronym stood for. But anyways, it was the big hospital on the San Antonio Military base, so I had on-post access. Sometimes I would go to the PX - again I don't remember the acronym, but it's basically a shopping center for military personnel. I would go to the PX during lunch breaks, and there would always be this big group of trainees there."

Ryuzaki was already looking lost; he didn't have the complex context to understand the background.

Jounouchi decided to just explain the joint base itself. "Joint Base San Antonio was the medical hub for the entire US military, so not only was there a large concentration of military members whose jobs were medical, but _all_ of the militaries medical training was done for soldiers, sailors and airmen."

"What about the marines?" Ryuzaki asked, taking a long drink from a water bottle.

"US marines don't have medics - usually they gets a corpsman from the Navy to be their medic." Jounouchi explained "Anyways, there's thousands of trainees on the joint base at any given time. When I first got there, I asked a group of trainees to show me around… I asked them to duel and they didn't play duel monsters, but Magic the gathering is super popular there, so they ended up showing me how to play. We hung out for about eight weeks." A small smile appeared as he remembered that group; two men, and two women in their mid-to-late twenties. They were training to be army medics, but were older than a good portion of their 'battle-buddies', most of whom were fresh out of high-school.

He remembered how the two males, Rowe and Bermudez, were both on crutches for shin-splints, but managed to get out of them by the end. The two females, Casallas and Slack, were an interesting pair. Casallas's first language was Columbian Spanish, so Bermudez, who was second generation Puerto Rican on the mainland US, would occasionally break out into full-blown conversations in Spanish with her, leaving the rest of the group confused. Slack was a lesbian, married with her wife currently serving in the US Marines.

"Why just eight weeks?" Ryuzaki asked.

"They were in training… they graduated and got sent to duty stations all over." Jounouchi explained wistfully; he himself had been there for their graduation ceremony, "I'm still friends with them on Facebook… From there on, I kept making friends with military trainees and playing magic or duel monsters with them, up until I stopped working at BAMC."

It hadn't been the easiest time for him; he, as a CNA, was the bottom of the food chain of Nurses, and being one of the few males in a mostly female profession lead a lot of his fellow nurses to either immediately feel threatened by him, hate him, or fawn all over him - which normally he wouldn't mind, but with how touchy some patients got, hooking up was the last thing on his mind at the time; during that period. All he wanted was to sleep at a decent time and get enough bathroom breaks he wouldn't get a UTI every four months. He was also far away from all of his friends and family, being in the middle of Texas, so he was mostly alone. Naturally, he gravitated towards military personnel, especially the students, who understood what it was like to be far away from all of your loved for the sake of your education and job.

"That's actually pretty great Jou, don't you miss it?" Ryuzaki asked.

Jounouchi thought about it - then he frowned. "Honestly… Yeah." He answered sadly "I made a lot of friends there man, some of those students did get stationed at San Antonio, I had all of these niche friend groups on and off the job, I was pretty much the charge nurse at ..." He trailed off "It's not that I hate being home, Ryuzaki… It's just that, now everyone else is gone and I feel like I'm right back where I was as a CNA; alone, at the bottom tier of a hospital." He rested his head into his folded arms, stomach now twisted.

"You're not totally alone," Ryuzaki assured, placing his hands together in front of him "you have Kaiba."

"...Yeah." Jounouchi muttered, a little muffled by his sleeves. That didn't help, really. "We always seem to not be home at the same time, though." He said; he was trying to be vague as possible to keep this charade up. The truth was he and Kaiba mostly left each other alone, and when they were together Jounouchi wanted nothing more to be away from him, he had so much anger and resentment because the CEO had cornered him and dragged him away from his life, which had been going mostly fine save for his student loan debt.

"Why not just have plans to be home at the same time?" Ryuzaki asked "Me and Haga have similar issues… we're both always busy, but we have designated hours and days that we'd be home, so we could spend it together."

"-Seto isn't the easiest person to try to request that," Jounouchi told him with a resentful shrug, looking to the side a bit to avoid Ryuzaki's eyes "he's running a company. There's no point in asking."

"But… Have you tried?" The brunet pressed.

"N… No…?" Jounouchi replied honestly.

"You should. It doesn't hurt to ask. You have nothing to lose, and if anything you at least have feeling a little less alone to gain." The other duelist made perfect sense… only if the marriage was real and not a sham. He and Kaiba did not love each other, they weren't even friends and never had been, they didn't enjoy each others company- but then again… _Could_ they really not get along? They had never truly even tried to hang out. Jounouchi tried befriending Kaiba back when they were teens and saving the world, but Kaiba made it abundantly clear that he viewed the blond as nothing more than an inferior duelist and person, and had no interest in making friends with anyone.

Well, now they were stuck with each other, at least for a while.

"Thanks Ryuzaki," Jounouchi told the younger man, sitting up again "I think I'll try."

"Well, I'm tired and I have dozens of tests to grade, so I'm going to head home." Ryuzaki said, getting up, Jounouchi nodded and stood up as well, grabbing his scrub top from the chair and hastily sliding it on over his head. "You do that, I think I'll help gramps clean up shop for the day."

* * *

"Hey Kaiba," Jounouchi said as he walked into the office of his… spouse. The BEWD master was sitting behind his desk and usual, typing away. He had a large expanse of manila folders and paper work scattered across his desk that he seemed to just be ignoring at this point. Not that he could blame him.

"Katsuya," He acknowledged, his eyes flicked up "you know that you're only allowed to wear black, blue or white scrubs at that hospital right?"

"Yeah, they haven't stopped me though because they're afraid I'll complain to you." Jou shrugged.

"It's the workplace dress code. One that _I_ personally put in."

"You want to see how many fucks I give Kaiba?"

"Katsuya,"

"I have exactly one, let me count it for you."

"If you-"

"Zero," Jounouchi held a fist up "one." He lifted up his middle finger to 'count' "Exactly one fuck." Kaiba gave him a long look before inhaling deeply, and then exhaling loudly through his nose. "Here, let me point at the one fuck for you." He used his other middle finger to point to his 'one fuck given' finger.

"Whatever. Whatever brought you here, I'm presuming it wasn't just to flip me off?" Kaiba asked, resting his chin on top of his hands.

"You should take a break-." Jounouchi started, but then paused, not sure how to proceed with this conversation.

"Maybe. And _you_ should make a point." Kaiba retorted cooly, still looking at him with completely disinterested eyes.

" _Look_ ," Jounouchi said exasperated "you pulled me away from m y job, my friends - my _life_ in America. All of my friends here and gone so technically all I really have is you."

"It's too early for a divorce, Katsuya." Kaiba deadpanned, returning to his work, assuming Jounouchi was trying to call it quits.

"Oh god if only." Jounouchi snorted, crossing his arms "I'm not here for that, though. I'm keeping up my end." He strode over to the desk, looking down at the sitting CEO. When he was in front of the desk and Kaiba was still just looking at his screen, Jounouchi slammed his palm on the surface of the desk to get his attention.

Kaiba didn't jump in surprise, but he did turn his eyes back up, looking annoyed "Then what do you want?"

"Urghhh," Jounouchi groaned, pinching the skin between eyes "Look… I'm sorry I was an ass the other day about the safe house stuff. I shouldn't have accused you of being grabby." He apologized, trying to sound sincere, and he really did mean it, but he too was annoyed.

Kaiba continued to look up at him, and after a not blinking for probably two minutes, he finally said "And?"

"I just… I just want to be cool with you okay? Er, I mean, can we just be cool? I don't like you and you don't like me, but I don't think it needs to stay that way." Jounouchi told him, the brunet quirked a brow. "We have to start somewhere on this whole 'not hating' each other thing..."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Kaiba asked monotonously, the word 'propose' made Jounouchi have a Vietnam-war-style PTSD flashback to when Kaiba dragged him into this marriage.

"Let's… uh, hang out for a bit." Jounouchi suggested, probably sounding awkward.

"I'm busy." Kaiba disregarded.

"I know, but you need a break. I'm not asking for a trip to Kaibaland," Jounouchi insisted, when Kaiba didn't answer him he grabbed the fabric of the shoulder of his blazer to get his attention back "Just… let's go for a quick walk outside. You can get some fresh air and stretch your legs - destress and all of that."

"No."

"As much as I hate to say it; we _are_ married." Oh god saying that made him want to throw up because of how true it was but also how much he hated it "You said it yourself, we have appearances to keep up. If we're only together in highly public events, doesn't it look suspicious? We have to be together in more casual settings too, you know."

Kaiba seemed to think about it for a second, and Jounouchi thought for sure the CEO would just reject him and tell him to fuck off so he could keep working. To his surprise, Kaiba slowly rose from his desk chair, and took off his blazer, draping it over the desk chair.

"Fine, let's go. There's a garden area behind the building for employees, we can take a walk around there for a few minutes." Kaiba told him, walking out of the door, when Jounouchi stood there in surprise for a second, Kaiba popped back in, hooked his arm with his, and practically dragged him out of the office.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

 **Authors note: Well I updated again, see you guys in two years.**

 **JKJKJK, I'm back into writing. Jounouchi hangs out with Ryuzaki now because he has no other available friends. Also, Jounouchi plays magic the gathering as well as duel monsters. He isn't the American champion because he isn't a main character of the magic the gathering anime, but he's decent at it. He prefers to play it for fun and social groups. Kaiba gets flipped on in a way-too-long middle finger gag that I'm proud of because I'm a garbage person when it comes to dumb humor.**


	8. Chapter 7: Goosebumps

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships, vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Goosebumps**

"Something that starts with B."

"..."

"It's green."

"..."

"It's all around us - come on Kaiba are you even trying?" Kaiba still said nothing and Jonouchi decided to just give up on their one-sided game of 'I spy', and instead quieted down as he looked down to the sidewalk. "It was 'bushes', by the way." Jonouchi muttered to the CEO, who continued to ignore him.

They were walking through the Kaiba Corp gardens, and to be honest, it was one of the most gorgeous gardens Jonouchi had ever seen. There were all varieties of colourful flowers and delicate trees, all of the foliage was pruned and maintained, the gravel parts didn't have a single rock out of place, and the sidewalk itself was clean with minimal scuffing and not a single crack.

For somewhere Jonouchi had never seen or even heard Kaiba mentioning, it was obviously well cared for and Kaiba hadn't been skimping on the price for quality of service for what had to be at the least weekly maintenance.

"Aren't you fun company." Jonouchi commented, putting his hands behind his head as he walked. They must have looked like quite the pair; a man in nurses scrubs walking with relaxed shoulders, and a man dressed in a suit who walked with a straight back and arms swinging fluidly nine inches to the front six inches to the back as if marching.

"I'm not exactly known for being a barrel of fun." Kaiba replied, finally speaking up.

"And here I thought you had gone deaf." Jonouchi muttered in regards to his… spouses, lack of speaking.

"I might one day with your loud voice."

"Why you little-"

"Quiet down, some employees are out here." Kaiba pointed at, specifically pointing to the designated smoking area.

"Do you smoke?" Jonouchi asked, more for the sake of conversation than anything else.

"No." Kaiba answered bluntly "Do you?"

"Only back when I was a CNA." Jonouchi shrugged.

"Must've been stressful."

"Well, yeah; mostly it was those lower enlisted military personnel though." Jonouchi explained "You see, there's regularly smokers, and then there's the US military I swear… every other kid I was working with was like 'hey man you want to smoke'? 'Wanna come grab a cigarette with us?' or 'Can I get a cigarette?', once I was out of of BAMC it was pretty easy to quit."

"Interesting." Kaiba deadpanned, and Jonouchi wasn't sure if he meant it or if he was mocking him in some underhanded way. Not that Jonouchi cared, because he was an asshole anyways.

From the benches and the other end of the walk path Jonouchi saw that some of the employees were staring at them; likely they almost never saw their CEO out of his office, or with his 'husband' outside of highly public functions.

' _Maybe_ _ **they**_ _think it's a sham..._ ' Jonouchi though, reaching over and taking Kaiba's hand in his on instinct; the brunet didn't move but Jonouchi felt his stiffen slightly even as he continued to walk. "Relax." He told him quiet enough no one else would hear him "It doesn't mean anything." He explained, but rubbed his thumb across the back of Kaiba's hand as if to both make the allusion seem more real, and to console the other man.

Kaiba gripped his hand back after a few moments, but Jonouchi could feel the awkwardness from the other duelist, not that he didn't understand it though; while Jonouchi was a very physical person, Kaiba was the exact opposite. As much as the guy loved him, Jonouchi seldomly saw him so much as hug his brother unless if both of them had just survived the impossible (which did happen a lot way back then, but still.)

' _I can't believe I'm trying to console Kaiba while holding his hand in a fucking garden_ ' Jonouchi though, as much as he wanted to hate this he still found humor in the situation ' _I hope he remembers_ this _after this whole facade is over, bet he'd hate this._ '

Jonouchi stiffened as well when he felt Kaiba shift the position of their hands and rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb, as Jonouchi had done earlier to him. What was normally a gesture of affection seemed so… alien, coming from someone as cold and affectionless as Kaiba.

The fact that it meant nothing, he wasn't sure if it was better or worse. It did make him awfully sad though, because he missed genuinely affectionate gestures, which he'd been lacking with the absence of his friends, and being stuck with Kaiba.

Jonouchi noticed something however, from the feel of Kaiba's hand "Your circulation is horrible." He told his… Spouse.

"...What?" Kaiba inquired, looking down at him with a strange look.

"Your hands are cold, and your veins are small; males normally are very vascular, and the hands are where veins are the most superficial, yours are way too small."

"..." Kaiba said nothing but continued to stare at him.

"Do your hands turn bright red when it's cold outside?"

"Yes?" Kaiba answered, his voice still monotone.

"Yeah, bad circulation. Maybe you should consider getting a blood pressure check. Hell, I can do that for you when we get back to the mansion tonight."

"..." Kaiba had no reply for that.

"I didn't suspect hypertension with you because of your age and lack of obesity - but I really should have, you _do_ live a very highly stressful lifestyle with little to no exercise."

"...I'm in shape." Kaiba muttered to him, rolling his eyes as Jonouchi's medical rambling. Jonouchi remembered how back right before high school graduation, during that whole 'Diva' incident when they saved the world (presumably) for the last time, and Kaiba's obsession with dueling the pharaoh reached its apex, the brunet had looked uncharacteristically in good shape, noticeable because of his penchant for tight black clothing. But, now that he was a medical professional, Jonouchi knew that basically anyone who's skinny but not bony could have a six pack, so it wasn't always a good indication of muscular strength and endurance.

"When was the last time you did cardio?"

"I don't see how that matters."

"That's what I thought, hope you enjoy a heart attack at the ripe old age of less than thirty." Jonouchi teased, bumping his shoulder against him; Kaiba retracted completely from him, but he didn't look entirely disgusted, maybe just a little annoyed, though.

"I have an actual doctor you know." Kaiba reminded him, crossing his arms.

"I figured but when was the last time- why, Kaiba, are you _pouting?_ " Jonouchi teased.

"Of course not, I'm not some kid."

"Oh stop, you totally are."

"Maybe you're just becoming a bit too comfortable with me."

"I mean, we're married right?" He amazed himself by saying that and not feeling the urge to throw up.

"I suppose." Kaiba shrugged, putting his hands into his pocket. Jonouchi managed to grin up at him, but the gesture was neither acknowledged nor returned, but that was a given.

Jonouchi took a sweeping gaze around the garden as they neared the end of the path, the loop that returned to the Kaiba Corporation building "You know… This place is really pretty." He said "You should consider taking more walks."

"You should consider taking more visits." Kaiba said, he seemed to realize the implications of what he said quickly though, and added "Because there is rumors about us." And he quickly walked off, leaving Jonouchi there by himself.

"...I guess Ryuzaki was right." Jonouchi said quietly to himself, grinning a bit "Maybe we don't have to hate each other..." He started back into the building, and to the company parking area where his car was waiting.

* * *

"Thank you." Jonouchi told the home cook as she handed him dinner at the table, smiling at her. She merely nodded and curtly bowed before leaving; Jonouchi took a good look at her long slender legs and shapely bottom through her cook uniform as she left; no short skirt today but she was still a sight. As much as Jonouchi liked guys, it wasn't like his attraction for females was going to be wiped clear.

Tonight's meal consisted of white rice, miso soup, a side of pickled vegetables and a salmon filet. True Japanese meals were a bit of a hassle to get in Texas, and while San Antonio was multicultural the most prominent demographic of Easterners in that area was South Koreans. And they weren't always friendly to Japanese people. He'll always remember speaking to a visiting Korean soldier, who, thinking Jonouchi was American (not an unfair thought, but still) explained that to tell the difference between the Asian demographics was that " _Japanese look like Koreans but with fucked up teeth. And Chinese are fucking ugly."_ If Jonouchi hadn't learned patience from having frustrating, sometimes mentally deficient patients, than he would have punched the guy.

He heard footsteps approaching, at first he thought the cook was returning or maybe the maid was coming to clean up, but when he looked over his shoulder he instead saw his… spouse, standing there. "Good evening." Jonouchi greeted, not putting his utensils down, instead opting to focus on eating again once he had greeted the brunet.

Kaiba sat at the other end of the table, his head in his hands, Jonouchi looked over and kept eating, it wasn't until a few minutes went by he spoke up again.

"You okay?" He asked "Headache or something? You'd get headaches less often if you didn't have high blood pressure you know." He attempted to crack a joke; the CEO opened his cobalt eyes and glared at him. "Geeze, if looks could kill." Jonouchi muttered, still eating.

"There was an electrical error with a rollercoaster at the local Kaibaland, and it ended up closing down the whole park for the day, and when the contractors looked over the grid, they find that the whole electrical systems needs an update and the hardware has to be completely replaced. So now the park is going to be closed at least a week." Kaiba explained, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"Huh." Was all Jonouchi could offer. "I'd offer some advice or words of encouragement, but I'm a healthcare provider, so I don't think I can say anything technological to a literal prodigy when I can't fix my own duel disk."

Kaiba seemed to think for a second, absorbing his hostage brides statement "Are you _still_ using the same duel disk from Battle City?"

"...Yeah." Jonouchi admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"Why didn't you replace it?"

"Remember that new duel disk system you released when we graduated?"

"What about it?"

"Well, you had one, and you gave one to Yugi for free, and the commercially available ones were like twice the cost of your average smartphone so I never got to buy one while I was here. And it's Japanese exclusive, so I couldn't get one while I was in America." Jonouchi explained, finishing up the rice and placing the chopsticks on top of the empty bowl.

"You didn't get one when you came back? It's been over six months."

"Well the price went down, but I'm saving money so my sister and I can go on a trip to America during the summer."

Kaiba gave him a look that practically called him an idiot with just his eyes "You don't need to save money, I'm a billionaire." He reminded him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. In hindsight, it was, but he didn't have to rub it in his face.

Jonouchi rolled his eyes and waved off his 'concerns' "Our accounts are split, and even so I'm not interested in hand-outs for my own projects."

"I'm the one who pays you." Kaiba reminded him - it was true after all, since Jonouchi worked for a Kaiba Corp owned hospital.

"And?" Jonouchi inquired, now annoyed himself "I can take care of myself Kaiba, I've been doing it since middle school." He picked up the dishes "Whatever, if your headache doesn't go away, don't take anymore than 800 miligrams of ibuprofen in an 8 hour period, and no more than 2400 milligrams in one day, I'm going to bed." He said, heading off to the kitchen.

To be continued...

* * *

 **Authors Note: And in todays episode of "Jonouchi and Kaiba talk to each other until they fall in love" Heavy in dialogue, low in plot. Take in mind there isn't much of an overarching plot, just these two bitching at each other, but these conversations do usually lead to somewhere.**


	9. Chapter 8: Combative

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships, vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Combative**

Updating a duel disk wasn't a particularly arduous task in of it's own; Kaiba had done it countless times at this point, however, Katsuya's duel disk was the classic battle city era model which was horribly outdated.

It still held up extremely well, it was Kaiba Corp technology after all, it was just outdated.

His significant other had decided to take a double shift today to cover for another floor nurse, meaning that Kaiba was now home at the Kaiba mansion by himself; being an insomniac, he had a few more hours before he would actually be tired, so he decided to take this time and do the nurse a favour and update his duelist to the current model. It wasn't hard to find, he kept it right on the bedside drawer; old habits died hard and the blonde still kept his duel disk within arms length.

If anything, it would be suspicious if the husband of the inventor of the duel disk system and its subsequent models still carried around the classic model. Sure Katsuya was a sentimental fool, but the public wouldn't know that and Kaiba wasn't going to risk exposing the facade for something as trivial as an outdated duel disk.

Kaiba scowled as he carefully gutted the hardware from the shell of the disk - what a lot of duelists didn't realize was that not only were all duel disks connected wirelessly to the Kaiba Corp dueling mainframe, but that the duel disks themselves had a storage chip that held the information on all the duels that had happened with that disk. This was a back-up for when the disk could not connect to the mainframe for any reason, such as signal jammers or in Katsuya's case, sheer distance.

The disk hadn't been turned on since the blonde had returned from America, so it hadn't synced up to the mainframe yet; no matter, he could just manually sync it up from here. Carefully, Kaiba removed the chip and inserted it onto the USB adapter; on the screen of his laptop the progress bar popped up and slowly climbed in percentage as the dueling history saved on the duel disk was uploaded; starting from Battle City, along with whether or no he'd won those duels.

Duel against who was then identified as a rare hunter; lost. Duel against Insector Haga, won. Esper Roba, Ryota Kajiki. Duel against Yugi at the docks; draw. Rishid, win. Marik, loss by default. Kaiba, loss (not like the result would have ever been different). Yugi Motou, win-

 _What?_

"What?" Kaiba repeated his own thought out loud, staring at the result in shock; right after duelist kingdom, Yugi and Katsuya had a duel and the blonde actually won.

That… Couldn't be right?

Could it?

He clicked on that specific duel, scrolling through the cards used and the timestamps and life points as it progressed… and, no, it checked out, this was a legitimate duel. The cards used and specific strategies used by each duelist were very characteristic of both of them at the time. Interestingly, during that duel Yugi was the one using the red eyes black dragon - in fact, Katsuya hadn't used his red eyes at all for Battle City except for that duel with the rare hunters, up until after this duel with Yugi, this implied that they had dueled for ownership of the red eyes.

Surely Yugi let his best friend win? No. It didn't make sense either way. It didn't make sense that Katsuya beat Yugi, but it also didn't make sense that Yugi or the Pharaoh would let the blonde win out of pity, that wasn't what they were like. Both of them had believed that holding back was insulting to their opponent.

Kaiba felt his hand tense almost enough to crack the USB adapter, but he kept his composure as he stared hard at the results of that duel. Katsuya couldn't beat him, so how could _he_ beat the Pharaoh?

* * *

"-And so I told the guy, _'This is the most wretched hive of scum and villainy I've ever encountered, and I used to work for the VA!'_." Jonouchi joked to his nurses, who broke into laughs and giggles. A small group of them were in the Staff Break room; most of their resident patients were asleep for the night, so they could relax for a little bit. Now that some time had passed since he started working there, he finally gained some genuine respect from the other nurses who had earlier either resented him, or blindly kissed his ass because of who he was married to. ( _Gag_ )

"Kaiba-sama." One of the nurses suddenly said.

"Yes?" Jonouchi answered, managing to not cringe this time as he'd got used to being called that.

"No-" She said, looking up. Blinking, Jonouchi slowly turned around and saw Kaiba standing literally inches right behind him, making Jonouchi jump back several feet while clutching his chest. He didn't even hear the guy open the staff room door!

" _Jesus Christ._ " Jonouchi said in English on instinct, trying to regain composure as he stood back up straight, but his hand was still clutched over his chest "H-hey _dear._ " He greeted in Japanese, forcing a grin as he looked up at the blue-eyed CEO, to keep up allusion "What brings you here? You don't normally visit me." He tried to sound upbeat, but there was probably some awkward stumbling in his tone. Hopefully the other nurses chalked it up to fatigue and surprise. (That was a big hope too, women were way too perceptive when it came to emotion)

"We need to talk." Kaiba said, bluntly; the CEO was dressed in his 'business casual' attire of his purple trench coat without armbands, black turtleneck and jeans with KC belt, and brown loafers.

Jonouchi raised an eyebrow, straightening up "Umm… Okay." He replied "Let's go to my office then..." He turned to one of the more experienced LVN's "Ito, you keep an eye on my patients until I'm done with my- my uh, _spouse._ " He tried so hard to say husband but he couldn't, and oh god he hoped they didn't catch his reluctance. As soon as she nodded the CRNA felt Kaiba grab his arm and practically drag him out of the staffroom.

"3rd room on the right of the - _ouch._ Geeze guy, you really got the whole 'tender, love and care' thing don't dontcha?" Jonouchi said sarcastically, hissing slightly from the near deathgrip on his arm. "Seriously Kaiba I'm following you, you don't have to drag me."

Kaiba said nothing, he opened the door of Jonouchi's office and shoved him into the room, almost throwing him. Jonouchi grabbed the edge of his desk to get steady footing again "Were you always this violent? I thought you got over this after the Death T."

"-After the _what_?" Kaiba said, having no clue what he was talking about.

"Nothing, nothing." Jonouchi dismissed, than crossed his arms angrily "Now, you want to tell me what crawled up your ass and died? Besides your head."

"You beat Yugi?"

"..." Jonouchi looked up and over at him in confusion.

" _You_ beat Yugi?" Kaiba repeated, striding over to him until they were only inches apart; his eyes were intense, not necessarily angry, but he definitely wasn't happy.

"...What?" Jonouchi inquired; what the hell was Kaiba talking about? Jonouchi hadn't seen Yugi in years!

"After Battle City." Kaiba pressed; Jonouchi thought for a moment and then it clicked.

"Uhhh." was all Jonouchi could say at first; oh god, he thought Kaiba was over this obsession with defeating Yugi; the guy went to the _afterlife_ just to challenge the Pharaoh for Gods sake!

"Well?!" Kaiba near growled, reaching over and gripping the shorter mans shoulders, pushing him against the desk. Jonouchi gasped in surprise, but snapped back and glared up at him.

"For one thing, would you not touch me?" Jonouchi demanded, pushing against Kaiba's chest in an attempt to push him away, but Kaiba's height and position advantage prevented this "And another thing, would you cool it for a second?! We're in the middle of a graveyard shift in a childrens hospital and you're here, making a scene because of a duel that happened almost ten years ago?!" Jonouchi almost shouted, feeling his professional demeaner melt away to his anger and frustration.

Kaiba uprooted his entire life by using his own financial situation against him, dragged him all the way to Japan for a sham marriage that insulted legitimately loving homosexual relationships everywhere, forced him to work for a hospital that he himself owned and making him have to start over with basically no friends around, and now he had the gall to come here and get angry over his duel with Yugi after Battle City.

The CRNA felt his fist curl up against Kaiba's chest and start to shake, he willed himself to not punch to other man, who at the end of the day was still legally his spouse, whether he liked it or not ' _I'm not my dad_ ' he thought over and over. ' _That's not who I am'._

"Answer me correctly." Kaiba demanded, gripping Jonouchi's scrub top and pushing him back onto the desk until he was practically bent over backwards and lying on the desk on his bac k with Kaiba hovering over him, the movement made his name placard fall over.

"Why does it matter to you so much!" Jonouchi growled, still pushing against Kaiba's chest trying to shove him off.

"How could a third rate duelist like _you_ beat Yugi!" Oh so _this_ was what it was about huh. Well Jonouchi wasn't going to take that insult lying down (even if he was technically lying down).

"Yeah I won a duel against Yugi! What are you going to do about about it?!" Jonouchi practically yelled.

The CEO's azure eyes narrowed and became inflamed, like light reflecting off of ice, he wasn't pleased. However, before he could reply, the door suddenly opened.

The two men looked over at the now open door and saw Ito standing there; she nearly dropped her chart, surprise clear across her features. At first, Jonouchi wondered why, and then he realized what a sight they had to be; the lights in the office were out, Kaiba was pinning him against the desk and Jonouchi had his hands against his chest.

"I... " Ito said slowly, but she lost her words in shock.

He wasn't sure if Kaiba realized the compromising position they were in; he just glared over his shoulder at the LVN as she stared at that.

"It's uh…. Not what it looks like?" Jonouchi said, unconvincingly.

"...I'll knock next time." Ito said, and backed out, closing the door.

With Kaiba distracted Jonouchi finally slid out from under Kaiba, taking several steps away and holding his arms out in front of himself to ensure that there would be distance between them "I think you've done enough here, Kaiba." He said, solemnly, biting his lip.

Kaiba straightened up, he kept his distance this time but lifted his chin a bit while looking down at him as if to threaten him with his size alone "I'm not leaving without an explanation."

"..." Jonouchi looked up at him, and narrowed his eyes almost ferally "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE." This time he really did yell, and Kaiba hadn't been expected it as indicated by the slight dilation of his eyes, even if his expression remained uniform "We will talk about it in the fucking morning, but you need to leave right now!"

"Katsuya-"

" _I will divorce you._ " Jonouchi threatened; the threat came out instantly, almost out of nowhere. Kaiba stiffened; what was at stake was mostly on Kaiba's end; it would be a major blow to his reputation if people found that he had bribed someone into marrying him. And it's not like he could give Jonouchi his student loan debt back in retaliation, because the blonde had technically upheld his end of the deal by legally marrying him.

"...Don't make threats you don't intend to keep." Kaiba replied coldly, but Jonouchi stood his ground.

"Go." Jonouchi demanded, pointing towards the door "Just go." He was red with rage and frustration. "We'll talk about it in the morning." He repeated, softer this time.

It took a moment, but the brunet finally took a hint, and left the office, closing the office door behind him.

"Fucking… fucking..." Jonouchi muttered, stumbling to his desk and gripping the edge of it for dear life as he held his face in his other hand, visibly shaking now "Asshole..." He muttered, feeling wetness around his eyes "No..." He gritted his teeth and tried to wipe the tears away, but it seemed that more tears came for every one that he tried to dry.

He hated Kaiba. No, that was harsh, he didn't like Kaiba, but right then he had felt a lot of what felt like hatred, and the urge to physically start fighting him had scared him; he didn't like Kaiba, but Kaiba was still his significant other, and Jonouchi had vowed long ago he would never hit his spouse. But the urge had been _so_ strong, it took literally everything he had to resist the urge to hit him. And even if it wouldn't really hurt Kaiba, who would have probably just dodged or overpower him pretty easily with his defensive training, it was the _principle_ of it that was eating at Jonouchi.

"I'm not going to turn into my dad because of Kaiba." Jonouchi muttered to himself, grabbing some tissues and trying hard to compose himself "He isn't worth it… I'm not turning into something I fought so hard against over _Kaiba._ "

 _TO BE CONTINUED..._

* * *

 **Authors Note: Jonouchi's upbringing of his parents fighting and his dad probably being abusive has significant affects Jonouchi, including his current set of principles. He has mentioned before the urge to hit Kaiba, but he refuses because of his own experiences with domestic violence. And Kaiba's pushing him around in this chapter wasn't helping. Kaiba in the manga was actually a super violent person; he would smack people around with his briefcase and snapped fingers broken, and this was _after_ Death-T. T** **he whole Death-T thing happened in the manga before Duelist Kingdom, but this fanfiction follows the events of the anime and not the manga, so you can take it as Jonouchi just breaking the fourth wall; or maybe it did happen and Kaiba just doesn't remember because of the (brain damage) mind crush. Take it as you will.**

 **Also while the duel between Yugi and Jonouchi was open-ended in the anime, I'm taking it as Jonouchi winning for this story. Sure, it's more likely that Yugi just gave him the red-eyes back, but where's the fun in that. I imagine Kaiba wouldn't know because he's too busy to just constantly check the win-lost status of Jonouchi who he thinks isn't worth it.**

 **Please read and review!**


	10. Chapter 9: Succor

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships, vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Succor**

 _RIIING RING RIIIING_

Muttering, Jonouchi reached over and flicked the alarm notification on his phone off only briefly opening his eyes, he closed them again right away as he sat up in the stiff bed, resting his entire face in one of his open palms.

It'd been a little over a week since the incident with Kaiba at the hospital, and despite what he'd said he wasn't a-raring to face the CEO again. Not because he was afraid of Kaiba, but because he was afraid of his own damn anger. He needed a few days to himself away from his… spouse.

As much as he'd tried to forget, it turned out that some horrible memories from his childhood were buried a lot more shallowly than he thought. He remembered once, he wasn't sure his age all he remembered was that he was small and powerless and his sister was too young to understand much of what was going on… hell, he was too young to understand too, all he knew at the time was that it was bad and he needed to make sure Shizuka wasn't directly looking at it like he was. He remembered playing with dolls with her, dolls he didn't even like, he just wanted to distract her as much as possible, and he'd just turned up the volume on the TV to drown out the sounds of of their parents arguing in the kitchen.

Shizuka asked him for some juice, and though he was hesitant he went to the kitchen to oblige her request; he walked in just in time to see the back of his fathers hand make harsh contact with the side of his mothers face.

It was quick, but it was so slow at the same time. He still remembered the distinctive sound of skin slapping skin with more contempt than he'd ever experienced up to that point in his relatively young life. He had looked up in shock and confusion as his mom backed up with a gasp and gripped the counter, trying to get as far from her then-husband as possible.

He didn't remember what he had said, he had said something, probably calling for the attention of either of his parents; his fathers eyes were unreadable when he looked down to his young son, but his mother looked down to him with a look he would never forget.

Fear.

When his mother had left him with his father, he thought she hated him and he was so confused as to why. Didn't she love him? She would tell him over and over again how much she loved him, but when they all lived together the statement became less convincing over time. And now that he was older, he understood why; she looked at him and only saw his resemblance to his father. And even if he understood now as an adult that she was in an abusive, neglectful relationship and was at the end of her rope, it didn't erase all of the hurt he had felt then, and the hurt he still feels when he looked back.

So to have an domestic dispute with Kaiba that edged on physical, and to feel such a need to beat the shit out of Kaiba, it _scared_ him. It brought back all of the helplessness, all of the sadness and all of the rage he had felt when he was younger, and it brought all of those terrible feelings back with a damn vengeance. It reminded him of his mothers fear that he would grow up to be just like his father, because there was no way he was _ever_ going to confirm such fears. His similarities to his father were skin deep and that was that.

Sighing, he got out of bed, slipping his feet into the slippers placed by the bed. Ever since they went out on that 'date' at Kozue he decided to delve into just how many safehouses Kaiba had. As it turned out, he actually had several safehouses in Domino alone; Jonouchi had decided to hole up in the one that was actually pretty close to Domino High School.

He guessed that this was somewhere Kaiba had frequented back when he, and probably Mokuba, still attended high school. His theory was further indicated by how lived in it was compared to the last Kaiba safe house - the drawers and closets had clothing and school uniforms, all articles looking like they'd be used by either of the brothers, and there were random assortments of textbooks and written-in notebooks spread out throughout the house.

Yawning, the CRNA left the master bedroom and walked down the hall to the kitchen; this house was fairly simple, it had a traditional Japanese architecture but the interior was modern in it's fixtures and decor. It only had two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, a study, and a kitchen.

He flicked on the kitchen lights and started a pot of coffee; he had to get some food items but the kitchen was otherwise fully stocked with kitchen utensils and appliances. Which was a little odd, because the Kaiba brothers didn't strike him as people who cooked for themselves. But he supposed he didn't know them _too_ well. Hell, he'd been married to Kaiba for over eight months now, and he didn't even know what the guys bedroom looked like (not that he wanted to, but still).

He placed his phone on the kitchen counter and headed to the bathroom, flipping the hot water tap on the shower and slipping in. A large sigh of relief escaped him as the hot water hit his skin; he had an affinity for extremely hot water, which was something to his knowledge was stereotypically more applicable to the fairer sex, but he figured he was already in a profession that was female dominated so it made sense he'd pick up some 'feminine' habits.

Once finished, he grabbed the robe hung up on the wall, put it on haphazardly, and walked back to the master bedroom, rubbing his eyes as he opened the door to it.

"Good morning." A monotone voice greeted him.

"Good mor-niin-AHHHH!" Jonouchi shouted, almost falling over the robe and once again throwing his hand over his heart as if having heart attack.

Sitting on the edge of the bed was Kaiba; he casually sat with his arms and legs crossed. Casual for Kaiba at least, because even though he was clearly being nonchalant he still managed to be extremely dramatic. Maybe it was what he was wearing; his overdramatic white trench coat get up that he'd been sporting since Battle City.

"Fucking hell Kaiba!" Jonouchi shouted as he pulled the robe to cover himself better "What is it with you trying to give me a heart attack before the age of thirty?!" He stood up straight and glared at his... spouse, resentfully "Did you consider… I dunno, knocking?"

"I own this house." Kaiba deadpanned, looking back at him with an unreadable expression.

"Well I know that but still." Jonouchi scoffed, leaning against the doorframe.

"You said you would talk to me the next morning but it's been two weeks." Well he definitely didn't waste time with that now he did.

"Look I'll talk about it, but would you at least leave the room?"

"Why?"

Jonouchi stared at him hard "I'm in a bathrobe."

"I can see that." Kaiba answered deeply.

"Dude, let me get dressed first."

"Then do it." Kaiba answered impatiently.

"Not in front of you dumbass!"

"We're both men." Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"You son of a..." Groaning out loud at Kaiba's blatant lack of tact and/or assholish toying, Jounouchi grabbed the clothes he had set out on the desk and stepped into the closet to change, making sure to close the door "What do you want to know?" He asked, though his voice was most likely muffled by the door.

"You beat Yugi?" Kaiba asked.

"Yeah, after battle city." Jonouchi confirmed "How'd you figure? It was years ago."

"The hard storage on your duel disk."

"You messed with my duel disk?"

"Your duel disk is fine," Kaiba dismissed "but, you and Yugi's duel?"

"We dueled over my red eyes black dragon," Jonouchi answered "at the beginning of Battle City, I lose it to a rare hunter… Yugi won it back for me, but I refused it. I realized I needed to grow as a duelist and a person before I deserved to have it back. When battle city was over, we dueled over ownership of it, and I won it back."

"How come you didn't take the King of Games title for yourself?"

"Because I didn't duel over the title. I dueled for my red-eyes."

"You valued a measly red-eyes black dragon card over the King of Games title?" Kaiba sounded incredulous.

"Of course I did," Jounouchi answered as he swung the closet door open; now wearing jeans and a red t-shirt, he glared hard at the CEO even though he knew he wasn't going to intimidate him, he needed to get his point across "I respected Yugi as a duelist. I knew the true King of Games was him, he proved it over and over again, I didn't need to go to extravagant lengths like you to see it." He crossed his arms "And unlike you, Yugi respected me back. We had a great duel, we managed to have fun _and_ have a serious duel at the same time, as unheard of as a concept that you'd know, and I won my red-eyes back. It's as simple as that, Kaiba."

Kaiba looked at him as if he was speaking to a five year old. "But _how?_ "

"If you saw the duel through it's data you know every move that was made, Kaiba," Jonouchi answered, then narrowed his eyes "if you mean how a _deadbeat_ like me could beat such an impasse like Yugi and the Pharaoh, we've told you over and over again how it can be done."

"You're not talking about that ridiculous Heart of the cards or friendship theory, are you?" Kaiba stood up, arms still crossed and thankfully he kept his distance.

"I am." Jonouchi confirmed, standing his ground "Me and Yugi may have been dueling each other, but we respected each others skills, we _believed_ in each other."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, clearing not seeing the point the blonde was trying to make.

"Maybe if you believed in someone besides yourself, you'd understand." Jonouchi said flatly, as he angrily walked out of the room and back to the kitchen.

He poured the steaming black liquid into a mug, and right as he put the pot back into the coffee maker, Kaiba came back into the kitchen. Jonouchi sighed deeply as he stared down at his reflection in drink. "How'd you figure I was here? I mean, I didn't leave a note but I figured you had some Kaiba brand tracking chip on me or something."

"The maids told me." Kaiba answered flatly; Jonouchi chuckled to himself; figures. He did have to get the keys to this house from somewhere, after all.' Silence as Jonouchi continued putting his simple breakfast together, now slicing a grapefruit in half and popping bread into the toaster. "Why did you run off?"

Jonouchi didn't look back at Kaiba, he instead gripped the countertop and glared down at his own hands "Kaiba, what you did wasn't right." He finally said.

"Oh?"

"Don't 'oh' me, Seto Kaiba." He said almost harshly, but willed his voice back down to normal "Look, we can't be how we were when we were young."

"In what regard?" The CEO inquired, Jonouchi imagined him raising his eyebrow even if he wasn't looking at him.

"Look..." Jonouchi sighed "I can't fight you, it..." He resisted the urge to curl his hand into a fist "It sets me off."

Kaiba said nothing, but the question practically hung in the air for all to see.

"I know you didn't take much interest in our personal lives when we were young, but you know I wasn't in the best financial situation. Hell, I was permitted to have a job in middle school because of how poor me and my dad were. My dad… he's not the greatest, he's a drunk and he got into serious gambling debt that only made him drink more and gamble more, he just kept digging this big hole and never seemed to stop digging. Well, when I was a kid, when he was still with my mom, they would fight over his drinking and gambling, and the fights just kept getting more intense until he became physical." He admitted.

His spouse still said nothing, he figured he was trying to be just a tad more respectful by letting him talk.

"But… I saw it, I saw him smack her around, maybe only a few times but I knew it happened a lot more than I saw. My mom, she doesn't really hate me, but I know when she looks at me she sees my dad."

The brunet spoke up "And what does that have to do with you and I?"

"I don't like you," Jonouchi replied bluntly "but we're still married. _You_ are my spouse, and I'm yours. We can't just fight each other like we used to, that's domestic abuse and it's wrong."

Silence.

"You… You take it that seriously?" Kaiba asked; Jonouchi caught the surprise in his tone, he wasn't sure if he was referring to how seriously he took their sham marriage, or how seriously he took fighting him.

Jonouchi whirled around and faced him "Of course I take it seriously! Kaiba for god sake, I-" he gripped his head "god you frustrate me so much, you're such an asshole I swear." He shut his eyes hard "Can't you see?" He fought hard against his emotions, because there was no way he was about to lose it in front of Kaiba "I-I'm not..."

Oh god the tears were coming, he was starting to lose control over his emotions.

"I'm not a-an abuser." He spat between gritted teeth, the edges of his eyes now moist "I'm not my father."

He started breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself down, now not even paying attention to Kaiba at all.

Maybe the CEO just didn't understand. His own early childhood was tragic in the loss of both of his parents, and then the abuse at the hands of Gozaburo, but he didn't have the same history of witnessed spousal abuse. Even if he understood it on a conceptual level, he might not understand the emotional level that Jonouchi was going through.

One hand gripped the edge of the counter, and the other hand was now covering his face as he was hunched over, still breathing deeply. The shame he felt showing all of this emotion in front of Kaiba of all people just served to compound how upset he was. He didn't sniffle, but tears were wetting the palm covering his face, and Kaiba most likely had pieced together that he was crying.

He felt arms wrap around him, almost softly, as if to barely touch him, only enough to make the gesture felt. He was surprised, but that didn't lessen his stress. He sighed heavily and said nothing to the other man.

The arms tightened and pulled him into the tall, lithe, albeit slightly cold body of the brunet. He wasn't sure how to react, because, he wasn't expecting this, and would never in a million years expect this kind of thing from Kaiba. And clearly Kaiba hadn't been expecting to do this either, because he didn't make any further moves.

"I'm… I apologize." Kaiba told him, Jonouchi didn't reply.

Slowly, Jonouchi pulled back the hand that was on the countertop and drew it around Kaiba in return; his heart was starting to pound both from the distress and the unexpected comfort being offered to him from the least likely person.

"No violence." Jonouchi muttered quietly, tightening his arm around Kaiba as he drank in the physical affection, something he sought in most relationships, but been starved of in this loveless contract marriage. "No physical violence again." His eyes were still moist but the tears had stopped flowing, so he pulled his hand away from his face and wrapped it around Kaiba as well, almost reluctantly. He dare not look the brunet in the face, it would only make the awkwardness more obvious.

"Alright, Katsuya," Kaiba agreed, as he, surprisingly softly, tightened his arms around him as he held him "no more physical violence." Jonouchi closed his eyes and rested his head slightly against Kaiba's chest. He would be tempted to tell Kaiba that his BPM was too high, but he'd save that for another time.

Right now… he just wanted things to be calm between them.

 _To be continued..._

* * *

 **Authors note: Finally some _positive_ physical interaction. Well, bittersweet really, but still. Looks like Kaiba has a comforting side, and maybe a guilty conscience after all.**

 **So Jonouchi has a lot of complicated feelings because of the abuse he experienced and witnessed as a child. So even though he used to be so ready to physically fight Kaiba back when they were younger, the fact that they are now married and Kaiba is his husband changes things completely from Jonouchi's perspective, even if Kaiba could wipe the floor with him. Trauma's a real bitch. But seriously, don't hit your spouse no matter what gender they are.**

 **Please read and review!**


	11. Chapter 10: Analysis

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships, vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Analysis**

If you asked Kaiba how he viewed his marriage and he answered you honestly, he would tell you it was like most other relationships in his life save for his relationship with Mokuba (familial) and the Pharaoh (lifelong rival); it was all business.

It was supposed to be a simple business deal; Katsuya legally marry him and appear with him publicly just enough to get the public and more importantly his peers in business that he was not interested in marrying anyone's daughter; and he in return would pay off the crippling student loan debt of the No.3 duelist.

Marriage was a legal process and status, and he treated it as such. He gave his spouse the courtesy of treating him with professional respect and not calling him a deadbeat anymore like he did when they were teens.

He knew that Katsuya would accept, very begrudgingly and with enmity; not to mention he would need negotiations and terms and conditions to this marriage. He wanted to continue working as a nurse, which Kaiba put the stipulation he'd have to work for a Kaiba Corp owned medical facility; he was not going to have sex with him either but that was fine, but he had to live at the mansion.

Once everything was signed off and done everything else was just going to be about public appearances. At least, that's what it was supposed to be like.

Kaiba hadn't expected Jounouchi to take the arrangement so _seriously._

Perhaps seriously wasn't the right word, because took the marriage seriously, but only in the legal and professional sense. Katsuya on the other hand seemed be taking the marriage, even though it was a sham, very _personally._

He didn't know everything about Katsuya's past, but it wasn't hard to see that he didn't have the most stable upbringing. His father was notoriously a drunk and gambling addict, his mother had divorced and moved far away with his sister. Katsuya had been working multiple jobs since middle school, which was saying something since even high school students couldn't work jobs without school permission. He had this almost emotional aversion to alcohol that seemed to bring him a deep-seated type of panic.

He figured, if anything, Katsuya should have not taken marriage seriously at all. If anything, he should have been the type who'd see no point in it, but no, he was a sentimental fool and didn't look at their sham marriage as if it were nothing more than a signed government document.

This was very much to Kaiba's ire, because he was not the relationship type person. Yes, he was gay, he was attracted to men. Did he want romantic relationships with them, though? No, no he did not, such things were such a frivolous use of energy when he could be using that energy for more productive reasons. So there was no logical reason to humor his spouses delusions of sentimentality.

Just as he was unprepared to Katsuya's declaration that they had to treat each other within certain limits just because they were married, he was _especially_ not prepared for the blond duelist to lost control of his mental state and just start crying.

He was at a loss, because he wasn't expecting this type of thing nor did he have the most experience in knowing how to deal with it. Katsuya had always been a zealous, tumultuous person in both demeaner and actions, but in his never ending open display of his emotions, normally these were anger and excitement; but never distress like this. Hell, even during his duel with Marik when he literally stopped breathing, he hadn't shown this type of anguish, so even an apathetic person like Kaiba could see that he was deeply upset.

He'd seen upset employees, but their despair was always shallow and superficial, the type of grievances literally any overworked adult in Japan had. He'd also dealt with Mokuba's many episodes and tantrums growing, things such as nightmares, things such melancholy after being kidnapped again, but Mokuba was such an upbeat person he grew out of dependency on his brother rather quickly.

So seeing Katsuya upset to the point of literal tears, which he knew were there regardless of the blond hiding his face behind his hand, he was unsure of what to do from there. Again, the only time he'd come face to face with this type of situation was either with employees or Mokuba, and Mokuba was the only one he'd ever actually done anything about.

When Mokuba was upset usually something like consoling words or gestures were enough to calm him down - but consoling words were off the table because Katsuya was too upset to pay attention to words.

He wasn't consciously thinking about it when he put his arms around his spouse; perhaps somewhere in the back of his mind he though physical gestures of comfort was what was required of this type of situation. It was awkward, because they'd never had any sort of legitimate positive physical interaction, the closest being either hooking each others arms during business meetings, or even when they had been holding hands in the Kaiba Corp gardens, but those gestures weren't supposed to mean anything, they were _supposed_ to be for show.

At least… they were to him. What had Katsuya considered them? Did he take those personally too?

His sudden and awkward attempt at comfort seemed to work, he observed as the blond, although slow and hesitant, drew his arms back around him in return and rested his face into his chest. He noted through the contact they now had that the other duelists heart was beating fast and hard, maybe it was surprise or maybe it was always like that, he didn't know, he wasn't the medical expert between the two of them.

"No more violence." Katsuya muttered quietly, and sorrowfully. His voice was surprisingly hollow. He frowned in spite of himself; maybe he had over reacted a little bit at the duel between Katsuya and Yugi.

That was a hard maybe though.

"Alright, Katsuya," Kaiba finally agreed, tightening his arms a little around him, he surprised himself because although this whole thing they were doing right now was extremely awkward, it wasn't wholly unpleasant "no more physical violence."

* * *

"What is this, some kind of sitcom?" Kaiba muttered to himself as he was seated on the couch; Katsuya, once he collected himself, retreated back to the bedroom presumably out of embarrassment, leaving Kaiba to himself. Normally he'd head back to Kaiba Corp or the mansion to continue working, but he had to ensure that his spouse would actually return to the mansion and not continue to hold up in this safe house, so he was going to sit and wait.

He placed his laptop on his lap as he sat, and started typing, doing just minor work for now. He let his mind wander as he did so, in this case the place it went to was the safe house. This was the house he would often go to in high school, either during lunch, or after the school day to quickly do his homework and change for work. It was also used by Mokuba for similar reasons when he attended Domino High School. Although judging by the messes the maids complained about during that period of time, Kaiba had a sneaking suspicion he also invited friends and maybe girls over, maybe threw a couple parties. Not Kaiba's style, but Mokuba didn't get into trouble with the law or get anyone pregnant, so he wasn't going to condemn his brother for enjoying his youth.

He hadn't stepped foot in the house since high school, he knew he left a few school uniforms and notebooks in the bedroom and study room, but he hadn't been completely sure what Mokuba had left here. It definitely hadn't been changed up too much, having the same household goods and appliances he remembered. He guessed the blond must have cleaned up the place a little bit, because there wasn't a thick layer of dust on everything like he expected.

His phone started to ring; he quickly pulled it out of its pocket and swept his gaze quickly over the name that flashed on the screen; _**海かい馬ば モクバ**_ (1). He quickly pressed the talk button and brought it up to his ear.

"Hey big brother!" He heard a cheerful voice from the other end.

"Mokuba." Kaiba greeted in return "How are your studies in Yonsei?"

"They're going great actually, I gotta say the culture here isn't too different from ours but I was getting a haircut the other day and the hairdresser just started to massage my shoulders and I nearly jumped out of my seat!" His younger brother explained and asked "Anyways, how are you and that bastard Jounouchi doing?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes at his brothers old nickname for his spouse back when he too was slightly more cruel and arrogant "You know he's not Jounouchi anymore - Like I would ever take anyone else's last name." He said, he heard his younger brother chuckle on the other end.

"I know I know - say, I'm coming for a visit soon, you mind taking a day or two off? We can have a family weekend."

"Sure thing." Kaiba answered.

"No, family as in all of us."

"All of us?" Kaiba inquired.

"Well - me, you, and your husband of course. I mean… you two dated for so long and you didn't tell anyone, so I figured it was time we actually were all together at once to, you know, maybe make things a little more casual? Because, I know he's my brother-in-law now, but I really can't see him as anything other than Yugi's friend."

Kaiba's mouth was in a line - family days were meant to be a day where he and Mokuba could just spend together. "I don't know..." He said vaguely, it's not like he was going to admit to his brother that the marriage was a facade for business reasons. "It could be awkward, it would make you somewhat of a third wheel."

"Oh don't worry about me big brother," Kaiba knew his brother well enough that he could hear his brothers mischievous grin over the phone "I won't be a third or fourth wheel."

"Fourth?"

"Oh, I'm bringing my fiancée with me."

* * *

 _ **(1)**_ _ **海かい馬ば モクバ**_ **\- Mokuba Kaiba in kanji kanji according to Wikipedia, I don't actually know the Japanese language but Kaiba's phone screen wasn't going to be in English.**

 **Authors note: This chapter opens with Kaiba's POV on the last chapter. The thing about Kaiba's feelings towards Jou is that… well, he doesn't have those types of feelings for Jou yet. Because, he didn't consider that this had the potential of being anything other than a business deal. So Jou throwing in just how personally he took their marriage, well it's prompted Kaiba to re-evaluate what their relationship** _ **can**_ **be. Kaiba's gay but he's probably more demisexual than anything in this fanfic tbh.**

 **If you're wondering why Kaiba refers to Jou exclusively by his first name, it's actually because of his ego, it's basically him rubbing into Jou's face "Haha I took your preferred name (Jou/Jounouchi) from you, now you have to go by Kaiba" but he isn't going to call him Kaiba obviously because that's what he goes by.**

 **So apparently in the manga Mokuba's honorifics had him refer to Jounouchi as 'that bastard'. Also, he has a fiancee.**

 **Please Read and Review!**


	12. Chapter 11: Family Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

 **Title: Endearment and Enmity**

 **Rating: T-M depending on chapter, M overall**

 **Summary: When you're literally married to the person you despise.**

 **Warnings: Homosexual relationships, vulgar words and adult situations.**

 **Author's Note: I don't know why I wrote this.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Family Day**

"So where are we meeting Mokuba and his main squeeze anyways?" Jonouchi asked, sitting in the back of limo with his spouse, but sitting across from him. He was wearing his casual wear of a red t-shirt with dark blue jeans and black running shoes, he also had his Battle city classic duel disk attached his his arm.

"Kaibaland." Kaiba deadpanned, he was wearing a black turtleneck with black trousers held in place by a silver KC belt, and was surprisingly lacking in a trench coat and most accessories he would usually wear save for the metal bracers around his wrist, and his advanced blue duel disk system with it's connected headset over his left ear. He had his metal briefcase sitting at his feet on the floor of the limo.

"Did you know he was engaged?" Jou asked, resting his hands behind his head.

"No idea." Kaiba replied, crossing his arms over his already crossed legs "He might just be messing with us, however."

"Why would he do that?" Jonouchi asked.

"Mokuba's no fool, he probably already figured out the truth behind our union. This may just be his own form of 'payback'." Kaiba replied, Jonouchi silently nodded and awkwardly looked out the window. It had been a few days since the incident at the safe house, and both were still stewing in their own awkward feelings and observations after what had happened. Kaiba had gone back to the mansion, but the blond nurse refused to leave the safe house, where he insisted he felt more comfortable.

The arrived at Kaibaland without a hitch because Kaiba as the owner obviously had his own private, secret parking area. He grabbed his briefcase as he peeled out of the limo and Jonouchi followed him, hands in his pockets. They completely ignored the long line at the entrance and instead went through some kind of employees only entrance and were in the theme park in less than two minutes.

"So..." Jonouchi began "Where do we find Mokuba and his fiancee?" He looked over to see the brunet checking his phone for text messages.

"He says they're waiting by the amphitheatre." The brunet explained and behan walking, presumably in the direction of said landmark. Jonouchi, who was now unfamilliar with the layout of the theme park, followed, taking extra long strides to match up with Kaibas. Damn that guy for having legs for days.

There were sizable crowds of people, and Kaiba paused to scan the area for his little brother. A wave of excited park-goers cut in between them and pushed the unfortunate Jonouchi several yards away. "Son of a-" He growled as he tried to push past the many people herded around. He whipped his head around looking for his spouse.

He felt a hand on his forearm. "There you are-" He said, turning to face Kaiba.

Only to see it wasn't Kaiba who had tugged his forearm.

"S-Shizuka?" He stammered in shock, seeing his little sister was indeed right there with him.

"Hey big brother." She said with a huge grin that was very similar to his own, before she threw her arms around him. He recovered from his shock and hugged her back hard, lifting her up with a slight spin in his joy. He hadn't seen her in years!

Now an adult also, Shizuka had grown into her beauty. Her auburn hair was still long and down to her waist but held up in a ponytail, and her bangs were pulled into a fringe on one side of her face, and she had a conservative amount of makeup on, not that she needed it. She was currently wearing a loose, shoulderless cream sundress with a pink, light jacket over it and one-strap sandals that matched the jacket in color.

Still grinning, Jonouchi put his younger sister down, and she hooked her arm with his, before he could ask the important question of what she was even doing here, he looked up to see Kaiba striding over with Mokuba at his side.

Mokuba was no longer the runty kid he once was. He was now the same impressive height of his brother, likely having been a late bloomer. His black hair wasn't as long as it used to be, being about shoulder length and mostly tame if not for a few stray strands that were sticking up a little, his bangs covered his eyebrows and framed his face, which was sharper now. His stormy blue eyes were now in a very similar shape to Kaiba's, but much more expressive. Infact, they were alight with mischief just like his smile. He was wearing a simple light purple button-up shirt with black slacks and brown loafers. Around his shoulder was a black messenger bag with some kind of school crest and words in Korean Hangul that Jonouchi didn't understand. Mokuba's dressing sense contrasted quite a bit with his siblings over-dramatic flair.

"Hey kid." Jonouchi greeted his brother-in-law cheerfully.

"Kid?" Mokuba scoffed playfully, and stood over Jonouchi to accentuate their current height difference "I don't think I heard you properly down there." Jonouchi rolled his eyes, but then he saw Kaiba was looking at his sister, likely also confused as to why she was there.

Shizuka was smiling softly up at the brothers.

"So, uh, it's great to see you Shizuka, but what brings you to Domino?" Jonouchi asked finally, last he checked his sister had moved from New York with their mother, to Kyoto where she worked as a coder for a software company. In fact, she'd been giving him the silent treatment since he told her he'd gotten married, for "keeping secrets" from her.

"I heard you were coming to Kaibaland." Her answered, she sounded gleeful… Almost too much so. Jonouchi's 'little shit sibling' senses were tingling.

"And how did you hear that…?" Jonouchi trailed off.

Shizuka said nothing - instead she looked up softly at Mokuba, who, taking the cue, leant down as kissed her, placing his hands on her hips. Shizuka unhooked her arm from her brothers and wrapped her arms over Mokuba's neck.

"..." Jonouchi's jaw dropped, he exaggeratingly looked up at Kaiba who's face was still blank as always, but his eyes were just slightly rounded enough to indicate that he too did not see this coming.

The two pulled apart and looked up to their big brothers, both of them had the biggest shit eating grin that could put the norse god Loki to had an arm around each others waists and lifted their other hands to show off that both of them had a simple diamond ring around their left ring finger.

"..." Kaiba didn't say anything, he shifted his gaze to his spouse.

"What the fuck!" Jonouchi shouted, then covered his mouth when his exaggerated reaction earned him dirty stares from some of the many random civilians surrounding them "You- you two, how long, since when?" He tried asking all of his questions at once, which didn't seem to phase the _couple._

Mokuba, if anything, looking amused. He kept his arm wrapped around Shizuka's waist as he began to explain "You know, before I transfered to Yonsei University in Seoul, I did my undergrad for Mechanical and System Engineering at the Kyoto Institute of Technology." The dark-haired Kaiba explained.

Jonouchi racked his brain, then remember that was the University his sister had studied and gotten her Masters degree - … in Mechanical and System Engineering.

Shizuka was only a year older than Mokuba…

"Oh..." Jonouchi drawled slowly, then nervously scratched the back of his head "I-I see… how long have you two been…. You know?"

"We've been dating for three years," Shizuka answered, resting her head on Mokuba's shoulder "engaged for a few months."

"You uh… didn't say anything about it." Jonouchi said, and immediately regretted it.

"I could say the same to you, big brother." Shizuka said; although her tone was sassy, he saw there was a sharp look in her hazel eyes. Gee, hell really hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Kaiba cleared his throat to end the tension, he walked over and stood by Jonouchi's side, likely to feign some kind of closeness "Today's a family day is it not? We don't need to dwell on past grievances." He said.

Mokuba grinned "Don't talk so formally, it's just me bro. Me, my lovely fiancee, and your _husband._ " The slight emphasis he put in the word husband made Jonouchi's heart skip a beat. Did he really suspect the truth. In an act of self preservation and literally nothing else, Jonouchi reached over and gripped Kaiba's hand in his own, just as he had done when they were in the Kaiba Corp gardens. Kaiba composure stayed the same, but Jonouchi felt his hand go stiff before relaxing it, still not quite used to the contact.

"We should get going, what do you two want to do first?" Kaiba asked the younger couple.

"Hmm..." Mokuba hummed and looked down to his fiancee, who winked "We actually already went ahead and reserved a spot for us in the dueling arena." The dark-haired man explained.

"You want to watch some duels?" Jonouchi asked.

Mokuba tilted his head up and grinned at his brother-in-law "You can say that." He said as he, with his arm still liked with Shizuka, began leading the way to the dueling area, when they were a little bit ahead Kaiba began dragging the still bewildered Jonouchi to follow.

"You'd think he'd want to do something like go on the ferris wheel or something." Jonouchi said up to the brunet, who just kept dragging him and briskly following their younger siblings.

The dueling area had several dueling stages, there were many young and veteran duelists alike clamored around the area dueling each other. The biggest stage, the one in the dead center on a big pedestal was open, Mokuba hopped up the stairs leading up to it.

"So uh, who are we watching duel?" Jonouchi asked; he saw that the platform was empty save for them. Kaiba stopped once they were up the stairs; they watched as their younger siblings went all the way to the other side.

Mokuba opened his messanger bag and pulled something out of it, with their backs facing them Jonouchi had no way of seeing what he was pulling out, but when they whirled around the nurse was dumbstruck to see both of them brandishing duel disks.

"Uhh..." The blonde looked up to his spouse, who had put his metal briefcase down and was now messing with the contents inside "Is this a challenge?"

"It is, you should have caught on earlier." Kaiba deadpanned - out of his briefcase he pulled something out and then yanked the nurses duel disk arm over to him.

"Hey-!" Jonouchi protested as Kaiba shoved something red over his duel disk - he blinked in surprise to see the a duel disk system almost identical to Kaiba's, only red, was now over his old duel disk. He looked up to Kaiba, who then practically smacked the matching red headset over his ear. "Is… Is this the same as yours and Yugi's?" He asked, Kaiba rolled his eyes as if he asked a stupid question, which in his arrogant perspective probably was.

"Of course it is. I told you, your duel disk was outdated." He explained simply, then activated his own blue duel disk.

Jonouchi mimicked his actions, was was taken aback when the advances system sprang to action with bright red LED lights and red holographic screen.

"I guess it's settled then." Mokuba said loudly from across the stage as he and Shizuka simultaneously activated their duel disks - Mokubas was purple while Shizukas was pink. "It's time to duel!"

 _To be continued..._

* * *

 **Authors note: So, I played around with the ages a little. Let's say at the end of DSOD Kaiba and Jonouchi were both 18, Shizuka was 15, and Mokuba was 14 (he's a… really late bloomer okay). The ages for this fic are currently as followed; Kaiba/Jonouchi are 25, Shizuka is 22, and Mokuba is 21.**


End file.
